immunity and red ginseng
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a flu epidemic warning for the first time in three years. According to the Agency for Disease Control and Prevention, it was estimated that the flu affecting the number of outpatients on the 23rd to the 29th of last month was 9.3 per 1,000, which is the highest this year. It is close to twice the seasonal fashion standard of 4.9 people.
Influenza is an acute respiratory illness caused by the influenza virus. It is highly contagious, and if the elderly, children, or people suffering from other diseases are infected, the risk of developing various diseases by lowering immunity is high, so prevention is important.
Red ginseng, recognized by the Food and Drug Safety Administration as being able to help with immune function, has been proven effective in protecting against viruses such as influenza and respiratory cell fusion through various studies. Red ginseng shows antiviral effects by reducing the production of inflammatory cytokines and increasing the number of antiviral cytokines and immune cells.
Professor Kang Sang-mu’s team at the Georgia State University School of Medicine found that red ginseng increases cell viability, limits viral replication, and regulates the secretion of a number of immune cells and cytokines that metastasize to the lungs in case of RSV infection, leading to antiviral effects. note that it
As a result of analyzing immune cell changes after respiratory syncytial virus infection, the research team confirmed that the group prophylactically administered red ginseng had about 45% less viruses than the infected group without red ginseng administration. As a result of immune cell analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, CD8+ T cells, immune cells secreting interferon gamma (IFN-γ) known to be associated with protection against respiratory syncytial virus, increased 9.24 times and CD4 T cells about 9.5 work in the red group administered by ginseng. Specifically, as a result of comparing the survival rate by infecting experimental mice with the H1N1 influenza virus, the survival rate was 100% in the group administered with the vaccine and red ginseng combination, 60% in the case of vaccination alone , and 40% in the case of normal mice.
Meanwhile, at the 13th International Ginseng Symposium held last month, Professor Lee Dong-kwon of Sungkyunkwan University’s School of Pharmacy presented the results of a study on ‘the adjuvant effect of red ginseng on pneumococcal vaccine and cure of pneumonia’. Professor Lee’s team ingested red ginseng (100 mg/kg) for 15 days and vaccinated mice, followed by pneumococcal strains infected 7 days later, increased by about 25% compared to a case of vaccination only. Also, when only the vaccine was given, only 30% survived, but when red ginseng and vaccine were given, the survival rate reached 80%. This is as a result of strengthening the effectiveness of the pneumococcal vaccine by inhibiting the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by pneumococcal bacteria, preventing cell death and reducing inflammation. Additionally, red ginseng has been shown to promote phagocytosis by macrophages and attenuate pneumococcal colonization. Professor Lee said, “Red ginseng reduces inflammation by inhibiting the secretion of inflammatory cytokines caused by pneumococci,” and “ultimately, we can expect an effect to prevent pneumonia caused by sepsis.”
