Sunday, December 26, 2010

Does Ginseng help reduce the severity of the common cold?

In the pediatric population, upper respiratory infections are the most common childhood illness.  With the majority of these infections being caused by a virus, there currently are no safe and effective antiviral medications available.

One common remedy that's been used to relieve symptoms of the cold is Ginseng.  American Ginseng which is also known as Panax quinquefolius is purported to be effective in relieving cold symptoms in adult populations, but is it effective for children too?

A fairly recent study published in the journal, Pediatrics, attempted to answer this question [1].  The study itself involved using a specific preparation of Ginseng from CV Technologies called ColdFX.


The study authors reached the following conclusion:
CONCLUSIONS: Standard doses of ginseng were well tolerated and merit additional evaluation with regard to treatment of pediatric upper respiratory tract infection.

To find out more about natural remedies for colds, follow the link.


Reference:
  1. Vohra S, Johnston BC, Laycock KL, Midodzi WK, Dhunnoo I, Harris E, Baydala L.  Safety and tolerability of North American ginseng extract in the treatment of pediatric upper respiratory tract infection: a phase II randomized, controlled trial of 2 dosing schedules.  Pediatrics. 2008 Aug;122(2):e402-10.

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