Preventive Effect of Korean Red Ginseng for Acute Respiratory Illness: A Randomized and Double-Blind Clinical Trial

Lee, Chang-Seop; Lee, Ju-Hyung; Oh, Mira; Choi, Kyung-Min; Jeong, Mi Ran; Park, Jong-Dae; Kwon, Dae Young; Ha, Ki-Chan; Park, Eun-Ock; Lee, Nuri; Kim, Sun-Young; Choi, Eun-Kyung; Kim, Min-Gul; Chae, Soo-Wan

In the process of steaming and drying for manufacturing red ginseng, it occurs various chemical reactions that eventually lead to the production of effective components, not found in fresh ginseng. And also, the effective absorption and digestion of various active compounds are considered to be the strength of red ginseng. Red ginseng was shown to have a various immunomodulatory actions such as activation of natural killer cells, inhibitory action of food allergy, antagonistic reaction for immunosuppressive agents, and activation of innate immunity (14) (15) (16) (19) (20) (21) (22) . It has been proven to have a broad range of biological activities including T-cell mediated immune reaction, as well as antioxidant and anti-tumor actions (7, 8, 23, 24) . Recently, Kim et al. (14) reported the effect of oral administration of KRG on influenza A (H1N1) virus infection. In the study, they investigated the inhibitory effect of KRG extract on plaque formation by influenza A virus in a cell-based plaque assay, and the effect of orally administered KRG on influenza A virus infection in mice. They suggested that KRG could potentially be used as a complementary treatment of influenza A virus. Kaneko and Nakanishi Variables were presented as number (percentage) and mean ± SD. Analyzed by Mann Whitney U test and chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. The duration and the score of each symptom were calculated by sum during symptoms. Variables were presented as number (percentage) and mean ± SD. *Analyzed by repeated measure ANOVA and the P value means the significant level between KRG group and placebo group. WBC, white blood cell; RBC, red blood cell; PLT, platelet; ALP, alkaline phosphatase; AST, aspartate transaminase; ALT, alanine transaminase; γ -GT, gamma glutamyl transferase; BUN, blood urea nitrogen; HPF, high power field.