TABLE 3.

Quality assessment of the included studies.

Study quality	He et al. (2020)	Liao (2020)	Liao et al. (2019)	Mei et al. (2010)	Wan (2022)	Sheraz (2019)	Fang et al. (2021)	Mei et al. (2009)	Ma et al. (2022)	Xiang et al. (2024)	He et al. (2020)	Ding et al. (2020)	Peng et al. (2022)	Liu et al. (2016)
Research question specified and clear?	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Outcome measures relevant for AD research	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Are the characteristics of study population clear?	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
Species	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Background/generation	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Sex (and distribution)	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	N	N	√	√	√	√	√
Age	√	N	N	√	√	√	√	√	√	N	√	√	√	√
Presence and correct control group?	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Where the groups similar at baseline (if not randomized think of weight and sex, etc.)?	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	N	N	√	√	√	√	√
Is the experiment randomized?	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Kind of supplement mentioned (tanshinone)?	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Age when supplementation started mentioned?	√	N	N	√	√	√	√	√	√	N	√	√	√	√
Duration of supplementation clear and specified?	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Amount of ginsenoside mentioned	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Administration route specified	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Is the timing of the supplementation during the day specified and similar in both groups?	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Methods used for outcome assessment the same in both groups?	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Did report animals who died or were otherwise removed from the study	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
Blinded outcome assessment?	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
Was the outcome assessment randomized across the groups?	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
Total number of animals included in statistical analyses clear?	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Age of sacrificing animals mentioned?	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Quality score (items√)	18	16	16	18	18	18	18	16	16	16	18	18	18	18

Abbreviations: √, fulfilling the criterion; N, not fulfilling the criterion; ?, not enough information to determine whether or not the criterion is fulfilled.