Toward a More Complete Understanding of the Effects of Korean Ginseng (Panax ginseng) on Blood Pressure

고려인삼의 혈압에 미치는 영향에 대한 이해

  • Nam, Ki Yeul (1 Dept. of medicinal Crop/Ginseng, Chungnam Agricultrue Meister College) ;
  • Yang, Byung Wook (Central Research Institute, Korean Ginseng Research Co., Ltd.) ;
  • Shin, Wang Soo (Central Research Institute, Korean Ginseng Research Co., Ltd.) ;
  • Park, Jong Dae (Central Research Institute, Korean Ginseng Research Co., Ltd.)
  • 남기열 (충남농업마이스터대학) ;
  • 양병욱 (고려인삼연구(주) 중앙연구소) ;
  • 신왕수 (고려인삼연구(주) 중앙연구소) ;
  • 박종대 (고려인삼연구(주) 중앙연구소)
  • Received : 2017.04.07
  • Accepted : 2017.06.01
  • Published : 2017.06.30

Abstract

There is no doubt that the effect of ginseng on blood pressure could be different depending upon the type of ginseng employed for the experiment and methodology, thereby can exert bilateral modulatory activity on blood pressure. It has been reported that ginseng induced no significant change in blood pressure in those subjects with normal blood pressure, but had a normalizing effect on the subjects with abnormal blood pressure. Especially, experimental evidence indicates that ginsenoside Rg3, a major component of red ginseng, has been found to lower blood pressure, which is mediated by release of endothelium-derived NO, enhancing the accumulation of cGMP in the rat aorta. This clinical results further support the beneficial effect of Korean ginseng on blood pressure elucidated by animal experiment. As expected, a multicentric non-controlled clinical study shows that the effect of ginseng consumption has been found to normalize blood pressure in hypertensive or hypotensive individuals as compared to virtually no effect in normotensives. In addition, ginseng has been known to exhibit blood pressure decreased with no significant side effect and deteriorated QOL during the combination therapy of ginseng and anti-hypertensive drugs. This review provides a comprehensive overview on the effects of Korean ginseng on blood pressure.

Keywords

References

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