What are the health benefits of ginseng?

What the evidence says

Ginseng is a root that has been used for centuries in traditional medicine, and today it's sold as a supplement for energy, immunity, memory, and other health goals. Scientists have tested many of these claims in randomized trials, which are studies that compare ginseng to a fake pill (placebo) to see if it really works.

An early large review of 16 trials looked at ginseng for things like physical performance, thinking skills, immune function, diabetes, and viral infections. It found the evidence was not strong enough to say ginseng clearly helps with any of these, mainly because the studies were small and used different doses and ginseng preparations.

More recent reviews are a bit more encouraging in specific areas. A review focused on fatigue found modest evidence that ginseng may help people with tiredness linked to chronic illness, with a low rate of side effects. Reviews on menopause found ginseng lowered hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms slightly in some trials, though the quality of that evidence was rated low because of bias in the studies. Results for sexual function, cognition, and other outcomes have been mixed or inconclusive across trials.

A broad summary of 19 different meta-analyses on ginseng found possible benefits for fatigue, sexual function, menopausal symptoms, some blood metabolism markers, inflammation, chest pain (angina), and respiratory illness, with no serious safety concerns reported, mainly mild stomach upset or a slightly increased bleeding risk. However, the reviewers rated most of that underlying evidence as low or very low quality, meaning more rigorous trials are needed before firm conclusions can be drawn.

In Canada, ginseng products are regulated as natural health products. Health Canada allows certain traditional-use claims, such as support for healthy blood sugar, as a mild sedative for nervousness, or as a sleep aid for stress-related restlessness, based on traditional use rather than strong clinical proof. Because ginseng and peanuts are prone to a mould toxin called aflatoxin, Health Canada also requires testing for this contaminant in ginseng products sold here. People taking blood thinners, digoxin, or who have diabetes, an autoimmune condition, or are pregnant or breastfeeding should talk to a health care provider before use.