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Ginseng is one of the most popular forms of herbal therapies throughout the world. Various kinds of the ginseng root have been used to treat numerous medical medications, ranging from the common cold to headaches. In a new study, a researcher examined the effects of red ginseng extract on treating and preventing influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which is a virus that affects the lungs and breathing passageways.

In this study headed by scientist Sang-Moo Kang from the Georgia State University's new Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Kang tested the effects of red ginseng extract on the influenza A virus infection. Kang first infected mice with the flu virus and then treated them with the ginseng extract that was administered orally over a long period of time. He discovered that the ginseng-treated mice had improved immune effects. For example, the mice had "stimulated antiviral production of proteins important in immune response and fewer inflammatory cells in their bronchial walls," reported by Medical Xpress.

Kang also found that the extract was capable of boosting the survival rates of human lung epithelial cells that were infected with the influenza A virus. To add on to his research, Kang examined the effects of using red ginseng extract in treating RSV infection. He reported that the extract was capable of stopping the virus from multiplying within the body. Similar to the effect it had on the influenza virus, the ginseng extract improved the survival rates of the human lung epithelial cells that were infected with RSV. The mice treated with ginseng extract also had lower viral levels after they were infection with RSV.

Kang, who studies ways of creating new vaccines to protect against viral diseases, such as influenza and RSV, plans on conducting more research on the effects of taking ginseng. The study was published in Nutrients.