Unlu Ahmet, Nayir Erdinc, Kirca Onder, Ay Hale, Ozdogan Mustafa
Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine, Antalya, Turkey.
J BUON. 2016 Nov-Dec;21(6):1383-1387.
Derived from the Greek word Panacea that means 'cure for all', Ginseng (Panax) has had an important place in Chinese Medicine for many of years. As the name suggests, it is believed to be a miraculous plant effective in the treatment of many health problems. It is claimed to have many effects such as sedative, hypnotic, aphrodisiac, antidepressant, diuretic, and stimulating effects, and to be effective in the treatment of certain health problems such as diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, erectile dysfunction and infections. In addition, its effects on the prevention and treatment of cancer as well as on the reduction of cancer-related symptoms have been prioritized in recent years. However, the studies that have been done so far do not confirm these effects. Although certain favorable results have been obtained in some studies intended for investigating its effects on acute nasopharyngitis, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, and erectile dysfunction, it is early to say anything conclusive. And in cancer patients, it has been shown to be effective in reducing weakness due to cancer and its treatment. On the other hand, ginseng may cause important drug interactions, although it is described as a relatively safe product. For now, it seems to be reasonable to use ginseng only for cancer-related weakness in cancer patients at this point. But this should definitely be done within the knowledge and under the control of oncologists.
人参（Panax）一词源于希腊语“Panacea”，意为“万灵药”，多年来在中国医学中占据重要地位。顾名思义，它被认为是一种神奇的植物，对许多健康问题都有治疗效果。据称它有多种功效，如镇静、催眠、壮阳、抗抑郁、利尿和刺激作用，还对某些健康问题有效，如糖尿病、阿尔茨海默病、勃起功能障碍和感染。此外，近年来其对癌症的预防和治疗以及减轻癌症相关症状的作用也受到了重视。然而，迄今为止所做的研究并未证实这些效果。尽管在一些旨在研究其对急性鼻咽炎、糖尿病、阿尔茨海默病和勃起功能障碍影响的研究中取得了某些有利结果，但现在就得出任何确凿结论还为时过早。而且在癌症患者中，已表明它对减轻癌症及其治疗导致的虚弱有效。另一方面，人参虽被描述为相对安全的产品，但可能会引起重要的药物相互作用。目前，在这一点上仅将人参用于癌症患者与癌症相关的虚弱似乎是合理的。但这肯定应该在肿瘤学家的了解和控制下进行。
