[Wild Ginseng Benefits] 3 Benefits of Wild Ginseng Verified by Modern Medicine

Hello. I'm a pharmacist Jinny.

Today, we're going to talk about 'wild ginseng', which is a mysterious medicine and is known as the immortal herb of Korea. Since ancient times, our ancestors believed in the efficacy of wild ginseng to the extent that they thought that there was no disease that prevented them from using wild ginseng. It was thought that wild ginseng boosted the energy of a weak person, promoted blood circulation, and strengthened endocrine, heart, lungs, stomach, and skin. It's almost like a cure-all.

These wild ginseng were and still are not readily available medicines. Unlike ginseng, which is cultivated in fields, wild ginseng grows in deep mountain valleys that are not easily touched by humans, and its growth is very slow. It takes two years for the seeds to germinate, and the roots grow only about 1 cm per year. If there is a threat to their survival, they may even stop growing for years.

Therefore, the price of wild ginseng grown after enduring such hardships is much higher than that of ginseng, and it varies greatly depending on the growing season. A 100-year-old wild ginseng discovered last year was valued at 120 million won.

So, what about the benefits of wild ginseng that have been proven by modern medicine? True to its reputation, is it also very potent? We'll check it out right away with the paper.

The benefits of wild ginseng come from a substance called ginsenosides. And ginsenosides have different pharmacological effects depending on their type. Of the more than 100 ginsenosides, the one that attracts the most attention is Rg3. This is because various studies have confirmed that Rg3 has antitumor activity against cancers such as stomach cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, and prostate cancer.

In fact, in 2017, a group of researchers reviewed the previous 10 years of research on Rg3 and published a review paper titled 'Anti-Cancer Effects of Ginsenoside Rg3'. It was published in the International Journal of Molecular Medicine, an SCI-level journal.

The researchers concluded that Rg3 exhibits anti-tumor activity through mechanisms that induce apoptosis of cancer cells, inhibit the proliferation and metastasis of cancer cells, the regeneration of blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to cancer cells, and improve immunity [1].

"Ginsenoside Rg3 exhibits important antitumor activity in several types of cancer in vitro and in vivo. The molecular mechanisms of tumor suppression used by ginsenoside Rg3 mainly include induction of apoptosis, inhibition of proliferation, inhibition of metastasis and angiogenesis, and promotion of immunity. In addition, experiments have demonstrated that Rg3 is relatively safe for use in the bone marrow, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and nervous system."

"Ginsenoside Re is one of the major ginsenosides of hemp, belonging to the panaxatriol group. Ginsenoside Re has many beneficial and pharmacological effects on the cardiovascular system, such as effects on cardiac contractility and EMA, antiarrhythmia, angiogenesis, and electrophysiological functions of the heart. These beneficial properties for the cardiovascular system could provide an opportunity to develop new therapeutics if these data can be validated in future clinical trials."

Today, we learned about the benefits of wild ginseng and ginsenosides, which have been proven by modern medicine. Today, wild ginseng is being researched in a wide variety of areas, including the aforementioned areas. It seems that our ancestors recognized the value of wild ginseng early on and made good use of it.

Lastly, I would like to tell you two things that you need to check in order to fully feel the benefits of wild ginseng. First, make sure that the manufacturing method is used to minimize the destruction of ginsenosides, which are the core components of wild ginseng, and second, finally, what is the content of ginsenosides in the product .

So, I hope you have a healthy day in body and mind. It was Jinny.

[1] Sun, M., Ye, Y., Xiao, L., Duan, X., Zhang, Y., & Zhang, H. (2017). Anticancer effects of ginsenoside Rg3 (Review). International Journal of Molecular Medicine, 39, 507-518.
[2] Lee, K. T., Jung, T. W., Lee, H. J., Kim, S. G., Shin, Y. S., & Whang, W. K. (2011). The antidiabetic effect of ginsenoside Rb2 via activation of AMPK. Archives of pharmacal research, 34(7), 1201–1208.
[3] Peng, L., Sun, S., Xie, L. H., Wicks, S. M., & Xie, J. T. (2012). Ginsenoside Re: pharmacological effects on cardiovascular system. Cardiovascular therapeutics, 30(4), e183–e188.