American ginseng may reduce fatigue during cancer treatment

Posted by admin

July 5, 2012

Already known as a popular herb for its reputed energy-boosting effects, American ginseng may help reduce symptoms of fatigue for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation, according to a new study.

Mayo Clinic researchers found that after eight weeks of receiving 2,000 milligrams of ginseng daily, 340 study patients showed a significant decrease in exhaustion compared with participants in a placebo group. Sixty percent of patients had breast cancer. Researchers used capsules with pure, ground American ginseng root for the study because store-bought ginseng can be processed with ethanol.

Study patients were either receiving chemotherapy or radiation or had completed a course of treatment.

“It’s actually one of the most common problems for cancer survivors today,” said Debra Barton, associate professor of oncology at Mayor Clinic and lead author of the study. “Studies tell us that as much as 100 percent of patients at some point in treatment have a debilitating fatigue and though it does get better once treatment is over, many patients don’t get back to their pretreatment energy level,” Barton said.

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