Efficacy of Korean red ginseng (Panax ginseng) for middle-aged and moderate level of chronic fatigue patients, 2019, Sung et al

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0965229919310659

Complementary Therapies in Medicine
Available online 19 November 2019, 102246
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Efficacy of Korean red ginseng (Panax ginseng) for middle-aged and moderate level of chronic fatigue patients: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
Author links open overlay panelWon-SukSungaHa-RaKangbChan-YungJungcSeong-SikParkdSeung-HoLeeeEun-JungKima
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2019.102246Get rights and content

Highlights


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Chronic fatigue (CF) is unexplained fatigue lasting more than 6 months with the symptoms that interfere with the quality of life.

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While Korean red ginseng (KRG) is known to have higher anti-fatigue substance, its efficacy and safety for CF is unknown.

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By our study, KRG provided the objective evidence of fatigue-related measurement and the therapeutic potential for middle-aged individuals with moderate fatigue.



Abstract
Objectives
Chronic fatigue (CF) is unexplained fatigue lasting more than 6 months. Korean red ginseng (KRG) is known to have higher anti-fatigue substance than white ginseng. However, its efficacy and safety for CF is unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of KRG on CF by various measurements and objective indicators.

Design
A randomized, double-blind, clinical trial was conducted on 50 patients with CF.

Intervention
Participants were allocated to KRG or placebo group (1:1 ratio) and visited hospital every 2 weeks during taking 3 g KRG or placebo for 6 weeks and followed up 4 weeks after the treatment.

Main outcome measures
The primary outcome measurement was fatigue VAS. Secondary outcome measurements included FSS, CFSQ, SRI, scales of various fields (Depression: BDI; Sleep: ISI; Quality of life: EQ-5D 5 L), biochemical test (Antioxidants: d-ROMs, TBARS, BAP, and SOD; Cortisol concentration: salivary cortisol), blinding assessment, and adverse events.

Results
The fatigue VAS declined significantly in each group, but there were no significant differences between the groups. The 2 groups also had no significant differences in the secondary outcome measurements and there were no adverse events. Sub-group analysis indicated that patients with initial fatigue VAS below 80 mm and older than 50 years had significantly greater reductions in the fatigue VAS if they used KRG rather than placebo.

Conclusions
By our study, KRG did not show absolute anti-fatigue effect but provided the objective evidence of fatigue-related measurement and the therapeutic potential for middle-aged individuals with moderate fatigue.

Keywords
chronic fatigue
Korean red ginseng
antioxidants
cortisol concentration
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3g of ginseng or 3g of ginseng extract?

As theres is a big difference, 3g of extract a day is expensive, and a lot of 'pills'.

3g of ginseng is a fairly small amount.

N=1

I found ginseng to have a significant if very short lived effect, which is not the way it's supposed to work.

The temporary extra capacity it provided was likely false energy. I took it for about 2 to 3 months during which time, using the likely false energy, I became increasingly damaged and suffered increasing PEM.

I am not currently taking it.
 
Obviously because they are looking at just chronic fatigue we have no idea of how if at all this might be relevant to people with ME.

Like @Wonko, my personal experience has been that stimulants might be useful short term, but that they only served to delay PEM which subjectively was felt to be subsequently worse when it did kick in.

This seems to be paralleled by other uses of medication, such as that for preventing migraines when I was still at work part time. I could delay PEM related migraines for a day or so to get through my working week, but then they kicked in with a vengeance.
 
I had a doctor over 2o years ago who recommended me to try ginseng. Not sure if it was white or red or if that mattered. He was in fact so curious about ginseng he said he'd like to try for himself, but he just wasn't tired enough o_O

I'm glad Fluge/Mella are about to start at trial monitoring patients over a period of time without them having any interventions. Not sure if that has been done before and it will be interesting to see whether or not some patients improves, simply because it's a condition that fluctuates.
 
there were no significant differences between the groups. The 2 groups also had no significant differences in the secondary outcome measurements... Sub-group analysis indicated that patients with initial fatigue VAS below 80 mm and older than 50 years had significantly greater reductions in the fatigue VAS if they used KRG rather than placebo.
Click to expand...

Looks like a textbook example of p-hacking, outcomes were negative so they sliced and diced the data until they got it to spit out a significant looking value. Why on earth would it only work for people over 50.

objective evidence
Click to expand...

Where ?
 
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