Panax Ginseng

Panax ginseng · Korean Ginseng · Asian Ginseng · Ginsenosides · Red Ginseng

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Fatigue^{1, 2} Cancer-related fatigue² Prediabetes glycemic control^{3, 4} Erectile dysfunction (in combinations)^{5, 6} Subjective memory impairment⁷ Low-density lipoprotein (LDL)⁸	Ginseng hypersensitivity⁹ Pregnancy and lactation⁹ Under 18 years⁹

Panax ginseng, or Asian ginseng, is a root used as an adaptogen, a herb class thought to help the body resist stress, with ginsenosides thought responsible for its effects^{10, 11}. People take it for fatigue and stamina, cognition, glycemic control, erectile function, and immune support^{10, 11}. Typical patients are middle-aged adults with persistent tiredness or prediabetes^{3, 12}.

Fatigue evidence is mixed: a 2023 review found a small benefit on general fatigue, while a chronic fatigue trial found no difference from placebo¹⁰. Red ginseng and ginseng berry saponin trials in prediabetes improved glycemic markers, but the National Institutes of Health (NIH) fact sheet calls evidence in diabetes inconclusive and conflicting^{3, 4, 10}. After acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a 2025 placebo-controlled trial found Korean red ginseng extract eased chronic fatigue symptoms at 12 weeks, mainly in women¹³. Products listing Panax ginseng number over three thousand in the NIH label database, as capsules, tablets, powders, and liquids, prepared as white or red ginseng root; see Form comparison¹⁰.

The main cautions involve bleeding and glucose: Memorial Sloan Kettering reports ginseng may raise bleeding risk with warfarin and may lower blood sugar to harmful levels with insulin¹¹. Its warnings advise stopping at least a week before surgery, and it routes patients on these medications to their healthcare provider¹¹.

Last updated October 16, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

69 sources, 55 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources