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International Journal of Molecular... Aug 2022Cancer metastasis is the leading cause of death in cancer patients. Due to the limitations of conventional cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy, there is a need for... (Review)
Review
Cancer metastasis is the leading cause of death in cancer patients. Due to the limitations of conventional cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy, there is a need for novel therapeutics to prevent metastasis. Ginsenoside Rg3, a major active component of C.A. Meyer, inhibits tumor growth and has the potential to prevent tumor metastasis. Herein, we systematically reviewed the anti-metastatic effects of Rg3 from experimental studies. We searched for articles in three research databases, MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) through March 2022. In total, 14 studies (eight animal and six in vitro) provide data on the anti-metastatic effects of Rg3 and the relevant mechanisms. The major anti-metastatic mechanisms of Rg3 involve cancer stemness, epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) behavior, and angiogenesis. Taken together, Rg3 would be one of the herbal resources in anti-metastatic drug developments through further well-designed investigations and clinical studies. Our review provides valuable reference data for Rg3-derived studies targeting tumor metastasis.
Topics: Animals; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; Ginsenosides; Lung Neoplasms; Panax
PubMed: 36012338
DOI: 10.3390/ijms23169077 -
Medicine Jul 2022Ginseng has been believed to provide energy, physical health, and well-being to patients for hundreds of years. Fatigue is a multidimensional symptom with unknown... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Ginseng has been believed to provide energy, physical health, and well-being to patients for hundreds of years. Fatigue is a multidimensional symptom with unknown etiology and varying severity, and lots of patients suffer from fatigue.
METHODS
We search for research of ginseng treatment of disease-related fatigue in adult patients in Pubmed, Embase, Medline, and Cochrane library. Two independent reviewers assessed included studies and met to develop consensus on included studies. And we used Review Manager 5.3 software to evaluate the risk of bias.
RESULTS
The present meta-analysis included 12 randomized controlled trial containing 1298 patients. In the fixed-effect meta-analysis of 12 randomized controlled trial, ginseng supplements had a statistically significant efficacy on disease-related fatigue reduction (standardized mean difference = 0.33, 95% confidence interval = 0.44-0.22).
CONCLUSIONS
The use of ginseng supplements is benefit for patients to reduce disease-related fatigue.
Topics: Adult; Dietary Supplements; Fatigue; Humans; Panax; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
PubMed: 35776997
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000029767 -
Nutrients Jun 2022Results from different clinical trials on the effects of ginseng on prediabetes and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) are still inconsistent. To fill this knowledge gap, we... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Results from different clinical trials on the effects of ginseng on prediabetes and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) are still inconsistent. To fill this knowledge gap, we investigated the overall effects of ginseng supplementation on improving cardiometabolic biomarkers among these patients. A systematic literature search was conducted on PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane library. A random-effect model was applied to estimate the weighted mean difference and 95% CI for each outcome. Overall, 20 eligible RCTs were included. Meta-analyses revealed that ginseng supplementation significantly reduced serum concentration of FPG, TC, IL-6, and HOMA-IR values. It also increased HR and TNF-α levels. Ginseng supplementation changed HOMA-IR and HDL-C significantly based on dose and changed HOMA-IR and LDL-C significantly based on study duration in a non-linear fashion. Furthermore, meta-regression analyses indicated a linear relationship between ginseng dose and absolute changes in HDL-C. Moreover, subgroup analyses showed that ginseng supplementation changed TC and LDL-C when the supplementation dose was ≥2 g/day. Our findings suggest that ginseng supplementation may be an effective strategy for improving cardiometabolic profiles in individuals with prediabetes and T2DM.
Topics: Cardiovascular Diseases; Cholesterol, LDL; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Dietary Supplements; Humans; Panax; Prediabetic State
PubMed: 35745129
DOI: 10.3390/nu14122401 -
Complementary Therapies in Clinical... Aug 2022This systematic review aimed to update the evidence of ginseng on menopausal women's health care. (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
PURPOSE
This systematic review aimed to update the evidence of ginseng on menopausal women's health care.
METHODS
We searched six databases (PubMed, AMED, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, RISS, and KoreaMed) from their inception to April 2022 and included all placebo-controlled RCTs comparing any type of ginseng in menopausal women. The methodological quality of all studies was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool 2.0.
RESULTS
We included 15 RCTs with our inclusion criteria. The majority of studies considered bias a concern. Ginseng reduced menopausal symptoms in three studies (n = 515; standardized mean difference (SMD): -0.40, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.73 to -0.07, P = 0.02) and lowed hot flashes (n = 515; SMD: -0.34, 95% CI: -0.66 to -0.01, P = 0.04). The meta-analysis of three other studies failed to show that ginseng was beneficial for sexual function (n = 491; SMD: 0.31, 95% CI: -0.30 to 0.92, P = 0.32). Three RCTs showed positive effects of ginseng on the quality of life score (n = 515, SMD: -0.31, 95% CI: -0.61 to -0.01, P = 0.05). In two studies, ginseng failed to produce significant effects on the vaginal maturation index and vaginal pH. Another three RCTs failed to demonstrate a beneficial effect of Korean red ginseng (KRG) on endometrial thickness.
CONCLUSION
This study demonstrated that ginseng can significantly reduce hot flashes, menopausal symptoms, and quality of life in menopausal women. In contrast, neither KRG nor ginseng appeared to have any direct effect on sexual dysfunction, hormones or biomarkers, or endometrial thickness. More rigorous RCTs are needed to overcome the current limitations.
Topics: Female; Hot Flashes; Humans; Menopause; Panax; Quality of Life; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Women's Health
PubMed: 35691259
DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2022.101615 -
Nutrients May 2022Various neurocognitive and mental health-related conditions have been associated with the gut microbiome, implicating a microbiome-gut-brain axis (MGBA). The aim of this... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Various neurocognitive and mental health-related conditions have been associated with the gut microbiome, implicating a microbiome-gut-brain axis (MGBA). The aim of this systematic review was to identify, categorize, and review clinical evidence supporting medicinal plants for the treatment of mental disorders and studies on their interactions with the gut microbiota.
METHODS
This review included medicinal plants for which clinical studies on depression, sleeping disorders, anxiety, or cognitive dysfunction as well as scientific evidence of interaction with the gut microbiome were available. The studies were reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement.
RESULTS
Eighty-five studies met the inclusion criteria and covered thirty mental health-related medicinal plants with data on interaction with the gut microbiome.
CONCLUSION
Only a few studies have been specifically designed to assess how herbal preparations affect MGBA-related targets or pathways. However, many studies provide hints of a possible interaction with the MGBA, such as an increased abundance of health-beneficial microorganisms, anti-inflammatory effects, or MGBA-related pathway effects by gut microbial metabolites. Data for , , and indicate that the interaction of their constituents with the gut microbiota could mediate mental health benefits. Studies specifically assessing the effects on MGBA-related pathways are still required for most medicinal plants.
Topics: Anxiety; Anxiety Disorders; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Humans; Mental Health; Plants, Medicinal
PubMed: 35631252
DOI: 10.3390/nu14102111 -
Journal of Ginseng Research Mar 2022is a medicinal plant is a material with various pharmacological activities and research suggests that it is particularly effective in representative metabolic diseases... (Review)
Review
is a medicinal plant is a material with various pharmacological activities and research suggests that it is particularly effective in representative metabolic diseases such as hyperglycemia, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. Therefore, in this study, systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to investigate the comprehensive effect of on metabolic parameters representing these metabolic diseases. A total of 23 papers were collected for inclusion in the study, from which 27 datasets were collected. The investigational products included and Korean Red ginseng. Across the included studies, the dose ranged from 200 mg to 8 g and the supplementation period lasted from four to 24 weeks. The study subjects varied from healthy adults to those with diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and/or hyperlipidemia. As a result of the analysis, the levels of glucose and insulin area under the curves, % body fat, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were significantly reduced in the group as compared with in the placebo group. In conclusion, supplementation may act as an adjuvant to prevent the development of metabolic diseases by improving markers related to blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood lipids.
PubMed: 35509826
DOI: 10.1016/j.jgr.2021.10.002 -
Nutrients Mar 2022Many studies that use food containing Panax genus plants (PGPs) have been conducted but most of them have not mentioned the effective compounds ginsenosides and their... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
Many studies that use food containing Panax genus plants (PGPs) have been conducted but most of them have not mentioned the effective compounds ginsenosides and their composition. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of time to exhaustion as an index of exercise endurance with ingestion of PGPs or ginsenosides to reveal their effects.
METHODS
We performed a systematic review with a comprehensive and structured literature search using seven literature databases, four clinical trial databases, and three general web search engines during 15-22 March 2021. A random-effects model was applied to calculate the standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) as the difference between the mean in the treatment and placebo groups. We evaluated the risk of bias of individual studies along with the risk of bias tool in the Cochrane handbook. This study was funded by Maruzen Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (Hiroshima, Japan). The protocol for this study was registered with the UMIN-CTR (No. UMIN000043341).
RESULTS
Five studies met the inclusion criteria. The number of total participants was 90, with 59 in the ingestion-PGPs group and 64 in the control group, because three studies were crossover-design trials. We found that ingestion of PGPs or ginsenosides significantly improved exercise endurance (SMD [95% CI]: 0.58 [0.22-0.95], I = 0%). It was suggested that ginsenoside Rg (Rg) and PGPs extract containing Rg were significantly effective in improving exercise endurance (SMD [95% CI]: 0.70 [0.14-1.27], I = 30%) by additional analysis.
CONCLUSIONS
This systematic review suggests that the ingestion of PGPs or ginsenosides, especially Rg, is effective in improving exercise endurance in healthy adults. However, further high-quality randomized controlled trials are required because imprecision and publication bias cannot be ignored in this systematic review.
Topics: Adult; Eating; Exercise; Humans; Japan; Nutritional Status; Panax
PubMed: 35334841
DOI: 10.3390/nu14061185 -
Cancer NursingCancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a common yet troublesome adverse effect that compromises patient quality of life (QoL). Ginseng is often used to boost energy. (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a common yet troublesome adverse effect that compromises patient quality of life (QoL). Ginseng is often used to boost energy.
OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study was to systematically appraise evidence whether ginseng could alleviate CRF and improve QoL.
METHODS
We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials on the effectiveness of ginseng for relieving CRF. The primary outcome was fatigue. The secondary outcomes included QoL, anxiety, adverse events, depression, and laboratory markers.
RESULTS
The final sample comprised seven trials. The pooled results showed that ginseng consumption led to significant reductions in CRF levels (standard mean difference [SMD], -0.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.42 to 0.00). Furthermore, improvements in physical well-being (SMD, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.09-0.41) and emotional well-being (SMD, 0.20; 95% CI, 0.01-0.40) were observed, as were nonsignificant trends toward improvement in vigor (SMD, 0.18; 95% CI, -0.02 to 0.38), mitigated nausea (SMD, 0.38; 95% CI, -0.09 to 0.85), dyspnea (SMD, 0.27; 95% CI, -0.04 to 0.59), and anxiety (mean difference, -0.97; 95% CI, -2.12 to 0.18).
CONCLUSIONS
Ginseng consumption alleviates CRF and may have certain benefits in improving QoL especially physical well-being.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Ginseng may be used as an energy or nutrient supplement to alleviate CRF. However, the concentration of ginseng's functional components is affected by the production methods and thus probably its effects. Oncology nurses are encouraged to have a better understanding of the benefits and functional limitations of ginseng as an energy or nutrient supplement for CRF.
Topics: Humans; Quality of Life; Panax; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Neoplasms; Fatigue
PubMed: 35184068
DOI: 10.1097/NCC.0000000000001068 -
Experimental Gerontology May 2022The aging process predisposes numerous homeostatic disorders, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. Changes in diet and... (Review)
Review
The aging process predisposes numerous homeostatic disorders, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. Changes in diet and lifestyle and therapeutic adjuvants are essential to minimize the effects of comorbidities associated with aging. Natural products such as Panax ginseng have been used to treat and prevent diseases related to aging. This review aims to investigate the effects of Panax ginseng in various conditions associated with aging, such as inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, apoptosis, neurodegenerative and metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. The ginsenosides, chemical constituents found in Panax ginseng, can inhibit the effects of inflammatory cytokines, inhibit signaling pathways that induce inflammation, and inhibit cells that participate in inflammatory processes. Besides, ginsenosides are involved in neuroprotective effects on the central nervous system due to anti-apoptotic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects. The use of ginseng extract showed actions on lipid homeostasis, positively regulating high-density lipoprotein, down-regulating low-density lipoprotein and triglyceride levels, and producing beneficial effects on vascular endothelial function. The use of this plant in cancer resulted in improved quality of life and mood. It decreased symptoms of fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and dyspnea, reducing anxiety. Panax ginseng has been shown to exert potent therapeutic benefits that can act as a complementary treatment in managing patients with chronic diseases related to aging.
Topics: Aging; Ginsenosides; Humans; Panax; Plant Extracts; Quality of Life
PubMed: 35143871
DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2022.111731 -
Pharmaceutical Biology Dec 2021Previous studies indicate that compound Danshen Dripping Pill (CDDP) improves the adaptation to high-altitude exposure. However, its mechanism of action is not clear. (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study Meta-Analysis
CONTEXT
Previous studies indicate that compound Danshen Dripping Pill (CDDP) improves the adaptation to high-altitude exposure. However, its mechanism of action is not clear.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the protective effect of CDDP on hypobaric hypoxia (HH) and its possible mechanism.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A meta-analysis of 1051 human volunteers was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of CDDP at high altitudes. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into 5 groups ( = 6): control at normal pressure, model, CDDP-170 mg/kg, CDDP-340 mg/kg and acetazolamide groups. HH was simulated at an altitude of 5500 m for 24 h. Animal blood was collected for arterial blood-gas analysis and cytokines detection and their organs were harvested for pathological examination. Expression levels of AQP1, NF-κB and Nrf2 were determined by immunohistochemical staining.
RESULTS
The meta-analysis data indicated that the ratio between the combined RR of the total effective rate and the 95% CI was 0.23 (0.06, 0.91), the SMD and 95% CI of SO was 0.37 (0.12, 0.62). Pre-treatment of CDDP protected rats from HH-induced pulmonary edoema and heart injury, left-shifted oxygen-dissociation curve and decreased P50 (30.25 ± 3.72 vs. 37.23 ± 4.30). Mechanistically, CDDP alleviated HH-reinforced ROS by improving SOD and GPX1 while inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokines and NF-κB expression. CDDP also decreased HH-evoked D-dimer, erythrocyte aggregation and blood hemorheology, promoting AQP1 and Nrf2 expression.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
Pre-treatment with CDDP could prevent HH-induced tissue damage, oxidative stress and inflammatory response. Suppressed NF-κB and up-regulated Nrf2 might play significant roles in the mechanism of CDDP.
Topics: Acetazolamide; Altitude Sickness; Animals; Blood Gas Analysis; Camphanes; Cytokines; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Humans; Inflammation; Male; NF-E2-Related Factor 2; NF-kappa B; Oxidative Stress; Panax notoginseng; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Salvia miltiorrhiza
PubMed: 34808069
DOI: 10.1080/13880209.2021.1998139