Table 3.

Human trial findings to evaluate the effectiveness of ginseng against respiratory infections.

Participants	Interventions	Comparisons	Outcomes	Study Design	References
100 participants Age group 30–70 years	KRGE Nine capsules per day for three months	A Placebo-Controlled Trial of Korean Red Ginseng Extract to Prevent Acute Respiratory Illness in Healthy Subjects	Reduced Influenza-such as illness (ILI) incidence	Interventional (Clinical Trial)	[173]
43 participants ≥ 65 years of age	2 capsules/day of either COLD-fX or placebo (200 mg/capsule) for 4 months.	COLD-fX or placebo	Ingestion of COLD-fX by immunocompetent seniors during an early “cold and flu” season reduced the relative risk and duration of respiratory symptoms by 48% and 55%, respectively.	A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.	[117]
783 community-dwelling adults.	Adults were randomized to receive placebo, 400 mg, or 800 mg treatment.	CVT-E002 (a proprietary) A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.	CVT-E002 (a proprietary extract) can be safely used by similar groups and may prevent URI symptoms, Jackson-confirmed.	A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.	[174]
747 participants, more than equal to 18 years.	North American (Panax quinquefolius) or Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng) root extract or placebo or no treatment in healthy adults were included.	(P. quinquefolius or P. ginseng) root extract or placebo	Significantly reduced the total number of common colds by 25% compared with placebo. Tendency towards lower incidence of at least one common cold or other acute respiratory infection (ARI) in the ginseng group compared with the placebo group.	Randomized controlled trials or controlled clinical trials.	[175]
Eighty-nine (2000) and 109 (2000–2001) enrolled participants, average age 81 and 83.5, respectively; 74% women.	Oral twice-daily administration of a proprietary ginseng extract, CVT-E002, 200 mg, or placebo.	Proprietary extract of American ginseng, CVT-E002, with placebo in preventing acute respiratory illness (ARI)	CVT-E002 was shown to be safe, well tolerated, and potentially useful for preventing ARI due to influenza and RSV.	Two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials	[115]
323 subjects 18–65 years of age with a history of at least 2 colds in the previous year were recruited from Edmonton’s general population.	Two capsules per day of either the North American ginseng extract or a placebo for 4 months.	North American ginseng extract or a placebo.	Moderate dose over 4 months reduced the mean number of colds per person.	A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled	[116]
75 subjects, children 3 to 12 years of age.	Two dosing schedules of American ginseng extract during the winter months	American ginseng extract or a placebo.	Standard doses of ginseng were well tolerated and merit additional evaluation concerning pediatric upper respiratory tract infection treatment.	A randomized, double-blind dose-finding three-arm trial	[176]
14 participants (57–73 years old) with moderate to very severe COPD.	200 mg twice daily for four weeks) and then followed-up for an additional 4 weeks for a total of 10 weeks.	P. ginseng or a placebo	COPD exacerbations or adverse events	A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial	[177]
500 children aged 3–11	Either COLD-FX or placebo for 3 days.	COLD-FX or a placebo	No results posted	A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.	ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00965822
200 participants aged 12–75 years.	200 mg twice daily for 4 weeks. Other Name: CVT-E002	COLD-FX or a placebo	No results posted	A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.	ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00726401
293 subjects with early-stage Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)	Oral extract for 3 months twice a day	COLD-FX or a placebo	Reduced rates of moderate-severe ARI and significantly less sore throat, enhanced antibody	A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial.	[178]
227 volunteers	Daily oral capsule doses of either placebo (113) or 100 mg of standardized ginseng extract Ginsana G 115 (114) for 12 weeks.	Ginsana G 115 (114) Or a placebo	Natural killer (NK) activity levels two-fold in the G115 group; can protect against common cold and influenza.	Multicenter, two-arm, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind	[81]
100 volunteers	Three times/day, 9 capsules/day, (3 g/day) for 12 weeks.	Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) or a placebo	May be useful in protecting subjects from contracting ARI and may decrease the duration and scores of ARI symptoms.	A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled	[122]
45 healthy applicants aged 39–65 years	Six capules/day, 500 mg/capsule for 8 weeks.	GS-3K8 (ultra-filtered red ginseng extract) 2. GINst15 (hydrolyzed ginseng extract) or a placebo	GS-3K8 and GINST appear to have a positive tendency toward preventing ARI development and reducing the symptom duration.	A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, pilot study at a single center.	[179]
328 subjects Age ≥ 18 Years	Sachet’s granules, Oral route at day 7	Drug: Jing Fang Bai Du san Drug: Placebo Drug: Ying Qiao san	Jing Fang Bai Du San relieved and effectively cleared up the pathogenic cold. Ying Qiao san effectively cleared up the pathogenic heat.	A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled	ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00887172

Abbreviations: ARI: acute respiratory illness; CHM: Chinese herbal medicine; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; LCCUs: laboratory-confirmed clinical upper respiratory infections; LCII: laboratory-confirmed influenza illness; NCT: clinical trial number; URTI: upper respiratory tract infection; KRGE: Korean Red Ginseng extract; RSV: respiratory syncytial virus.