Ginseng, the 'Immunity Boost': The Effects of Panax ginseng on Immune System

Thousands of literatures have described the diverse role of ginseng in physiological processes such as cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, insulin resistance, and hypertension. In particular, ginseng has been extensively reported to maintain homeostasis of the immune system and to enhance resistanc...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of ginseng research 2012, 36(4), , pp.354-368
Main Authors: Kang, Soowon, Min, Hyeyoung
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
기타의약학
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Thousands of literatures have described the diverse role of ginseng in physiological processes such as cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, insulin resistance, and hypertension. In particular, ginseng has been extensively reported to maintain homeostasis of the immune system and to enhance resistance to illness or microbial attacks through the regulation of immune system. Immune system comprises of different types of cells fulfilling their own specialized functions, and each type of the immune cells is differentially influenced and may be simultaneously controlled by ginseng treatment. This review summarizes the current knowledge on the effects of ginseng on immune system. We discuss how ginseng regulates each type of immune cells including macrophages, natural killer cells, dendritic cells, T cells, and B cells. We also describe how ginseng exhibits beneficial effects on controlling inflammatory diseases and microbial infections.
ISSN:1226-8453
2093-4947
DOI:10.5142/jgr.2012.36.4.354