Ginseng Helps Cancer Patients Fight Fatigue

High doses of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) over two months appears to counteract the fatigue often associated with cancer, according to a new study.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center (Rochester, MN, USA) conducted a study that included 364 cancer patients at 40 sites who reported at least moderate fatigue--a score of 4 or more on a 10-point fatigue scale--for which other causes like anemia, pain, and insomnia could be ruled out. The participants received double-blind treatment with 2,000 mg of ground Wisconsin ginseng root taken as two capsules separately before noon, or with placebo, for a period of eight weeks.

The results showed that fatigue scores among cancer patients dropped 20%, compared with 10.3% on placebo pills. The effect was already noticeable at four weeks, when the ginseng group scores improved by 14.4 points on the 100-point scale, compared with an 8.2-point improvement in the placebo group. The most common side effects reported on ginseng over the eight weeks were a 5% rate of nausea compared with about 4% in the placebo group, and a roughly 4% rate of loose stool, versus 3% with placebo. The study was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, held during June 2012 in Chicago (IL, USA).

“Cancer is a prolonged chronic stress experience and the effects can last 10 years beyond diagnosis and treatment,” said lead author and study presenter Debra Barton RN, PhD. “If we can help the body be better modulated throughout treatment with the use of ginseng, we may be able to prevent severe long-term fatigue.”

Fatigue in cancer patients has been linked to an increase in the immune system's inflammatory cytokines, as well as poorly regulated levels of the stress-hormone cortisol. Ginseng, used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as a natural energy booster, possesses active ingredients called ginsenosides that have been shown (in animal studies) to reduce cytokines related to inflammation and help regulate cortisol levels.

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Mayo Clinic Cancer Center