IMMUNE SYSTEM STUDIES At the Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Jilin Province (where ginseng is grown), researchers in the pharmacology department evaluated the effects of ginseng on immune responses. The immune responses of mice were tested with different dosages of extracts obtained either from the leaf or the root of ginseng. Significant changes in the response of the reticuloendothelial (RES) system were found, especially with moderate doses of the root extracts. Larger doses did not improve the response. RES cells are the immune system components that devour foreign organisms without leaving their original sites in the liver, spleen and other tissues of the body. When tumors were implanted in mice, the response of the immune system was notably improved by the ginseng extracts and this caused a reduction of tumor weight by 1/3 to 1/2. Levels of anti-bodies in the blood were also significantly increased when the mice were injected with foreign blood cells, had received ginseng pre-treatment. In these experiments, ginseng was administered daily for five to ten days prior to testing the immune system responses. In human patients undergoing cancer therapies with radiation or chemical agents, it was shown that the anti-cancer effects of these therapies were increased. Ginseng administration accelerated recovery of the immune system and the function of the bone marrow (producing red blood cells) in these patients. As a result of these investigations, ginseng extracts are now used to treat patients with chronic hepatitis (who often suffer further depression of immunity due to steroid treatment) and those who have undergone cancer therapies. The ginseng substitute, Codonopsis pilosula, has also been widely used for its immune enhancing effects, It is reported to have the same basic action as ginseng, and it is especially good for building up the red blood cells, A distant relative of ginseng, eleuthero ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus), is used in Chinese hospitals to treat cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. It protects the immune system and is used in the Soviet Union as a preventive for colds and flu. Another relative of ginseng, tien-chi ginseng (Panax notoginseng), has been successfully employed as an adjunct to radiation therapy of nasal cancer, greatly improving the success of the treatments. Tien-chi ginseng not only improves immune system functions but also promotes blood circulation. It is important to note that ginseng, ginseng formulas, and substitutes are not used as a primary treatment for cancer, but as an adjunct to other, more aggressive, cancer therapies. INTRODUCTION | IMMUNE SYSTEM STUDIES | THE HORMONAL SYSTEM | CARDIOVASCULAR IMPACT | THE ACTIVE CONSTITUENTS OF GINSENG | IN CONCLUSION | BIBLIOGRAPHY | APPENDIX

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