Preliminary Tests Show Potential Of Ginseng In Preventing, Treating The Flu

A U.S. study of the herbal medicine ginseng finds that it could be effective in treating and preventing influenza and a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages. The researchers first tested the effect of red ginseng extract on human lung epithelial cells infected with influenza A virus, finding that it improves improved the survival of the cells and reduced the expression of genes that cause inflammation. They then tested orally administered ginseng on mice with influenza A, finding that it stimulated antiviral production of proteins important in immune response and fewer inflammatory cells in their bronchial walls.