TABLE 4.
Summary of clinical trials of ginseng interventions in AD patients.
| Ref | Medicine | Model | Sample size | Inclusion criteria | Evaluative criteria | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee et al. (2008) | Ginseng | AD | Control group (n = 39), ginseng group (n = 58) | 1. NINDS-ADRDA | MMSE, ADAS | Ginseng as a cognitive enhancer for AD patients |
| 2. Patients without other neurodegenerative disorders or cognitive impairments | ||||||
| 3. The use of drugs for concomitant conditions was permitted | ||||||
| Kudoh et al. (2016) | Ninjin-yoei-to (renshen yangrong tang) | Mild to moderate probable AD | Donepezil (n = 11), donepezil + NYT (n = 12) | 1. Patients diagnosed with AD between 65 and 85 years of age | MMSE, ADAS-J cog, NPI | No significant differences between the two groups |
| 2. Patients who scored 15–23 points on the MMSE after treatment with donepezil (5 mg/day) for more than 8 months, but who did not exhibit any significant change in cognitive function | ||||||
| 3. Patients without an otherwise healthy condition | ||||||
| Heo et al. (2012) | Heat-processed ginseng | AD | 1.5 g/day (n = 10), 3 g/day (n = 10), 4.5 g/day (n = 10), control (n = 10) | 1. Age older than 50 years | ADAS, MMSE | Significant improvement on the MMSE and ADAS. Higher dose group (4.5 g/day) showed improvements in ADAS and MMSE score as early as at 12 weeks, which sustained for 24-week follow-up |
| 2. MMSE score of ≤20 | ||||||
| 3. CDR score of ≥1 | ||||||
| 4. Without psychiatric disorder, seizure disorder, or a medical condition | ||||||
| 5. Without cognitive impairment due to stroke, neoplasia, infection, hypoxic brain injury, or medications | ||||||
| Heo et al. (2008) | Korean red ginseng | AD | Low-dose (4.5 g/day, n = 15), high-dose (9 g/day, n = 15), control (n = 31) | 1. Aged older than 50 years and baseline MMSE score of≥10 and ≤26 | ADAS, K-MMSE, CDR | High-dose KRG group was significant improvement on the ADAS and CDR but normally improved on the MMSE after 12 weeks of KRG therapy when compared with those in the control group |
| 2. Patients were without psychiatric disorder, seizure disorder, or a medical condition that would limit the completeness of the study | ||||||
| 3. Patients without cognitive disorder caused by stroke, hypoxic brain, cerebral neoplasia, infection, and medications | ||||||
| Yakoot et al. (2013) | Memo® (combining of lyophilized royal jelly, extracts of G. biloba and P. ginseng) | AD | Experimental group (n = 30) control group (n = 30) | 1. Aged 50–80 years, complaining of memory impairment or forgetfulness | MMSE | Beneficial in treating the cognitive decline that occurs during the aging process as well as in the early stages of pathologic cognitive impairment of insidious-onset vascular dementia and in AD |
| 2. Satisfying the clinical criteria of memory complaint, normal activities of daily living, abnormal memory for age, and no documented dementia |