1 Department of Nursing, Mayo Clinic , Phoenix, AZ.
2 Division of Integrative Medicine and Health, Mayo Clinic , Scottsdale, AZ.
J Altern Complement Med. 2018 Jul;24(7):624-633. doi: 10.1089/acm.2017.0361. Epub 2018 Apr 6.
Millions of people with chronic illness suffer from fatigue. Fatigue is a complex, multidimensional symptom with poorly understood causes, wide variations in severity among individuals, and negative effects on multiple domains of daily life. Many patients with fatigue report the use of herbal remedies. Ginseng is one of the most widely used because it is believed to improve energy, physical and emotional health, and well-being.
To systematically review the published evidence to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the two types of Panax ginseng (Asian [Panax ginseng] and American [Panax quinquefolius]) as treatments for fatigue.
PubMed, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health), Ovid MEDLINE, and EMBASE databases were searched using Medical Subject Heading and keyword terms, including ginseng, Panax, ginsenosides, ginsenoside* (wild card), fatigue, fatigue syndrome, cancer-related fatigue, and chronic fatigue. Studies were included if participants had fatigue, had used one of the two Panax ginsengs as an intervention, and had scores from a self-report fatigue measure. Two reviewers independently assessed each article at each review phase and met to develop consensus on included studies. Risk of bias was assessed using version 5.3 of the Cochrane Collaboration Review Manager (RevMan), and results were synthesized in a narrative summary.
The search strategy resulted in 149 articles, with 1 additional article located through review of references. After titles, abstracts, and full text were reviewed, 139 articles did not meet inclusion criteria. For the 10 studies reviewed, there was a low risk of adverse events associated with the use of ginseng and modest evidence for its efficacy.
Ginseng is a promising treatment for fatigue. Both American and Asian ginseng may be viable treatments for fatigue in people with chronic illness. Because of ginseng's widespread use, a critical need exists for continued research that is methodologically stronger and that includes more diverse samples before ginseng is adopted as a standard treatment option for fatigue.
数以百万计的慢性病患者饱受疲劳之苦。疲劳是一种复杂的多维症状，其病因尚不清楚，个体之间的严重程度差异很大，对日常生活的多个领域都有负面影响。许多疲劳患者报告使用草药疗法。人参是使用最广泛的草药之一，因为人们相信它可以提高能量、身体和心理健康以及幸福感。
系统回顾已发表的证据，评估两种人参（亚洲人参[Panax ginseng]和美洲人参[Panax quinquefolius]）作为治疗疲劳的安全性和有效性。
使用医学主题词和关键词，包括人参、Panax、ginsenosides、ginsenoside*（通配符）、疲劳、疲劳综合征、癌症相关疲劳和慢性疲劳，在 PubMed、CINAHL（护理和相关健康综合索引）、Ovid MEDLINE 和 EMBASE 数据库中进行搜索。如果参与者有疲劳、使用了两种人参中的一种作为干预措施，并且有自我报告的疲劳量表评分，则纳入研究。两名评审员在每个审查阶段独立评估每篇文章，并开会就纳入研究达成共识。使用 Cochrane 协作 RevMan（RevMan）第 5.3 版评估偏倚风险，并以叙述性摘要综合结果。
搜索策略产生了 149 篇文章，通过审查参考文献又找到了 1 篇文章。在审查了标题、摘要和全文后，139 篇文章不符合纳入标准。在综述的 10 项研究中，人参使用相关的不良事件风险较低，且疗效有适度证据支持。
人参是治疗疲劳的一种有前途的方法。亚洲人参和美洲人参都可能是慢性病患者疲劳的可行治疗方法。由于人参的广泛使用，在将人参作为疲劳的标准治疗选择之前，迫切需要继续进行方法更强大且样本更多样化的研究。
