Friday Hope: Ginseng: Alleviating Post COVID/Spike (and Other Post-Viral) Fatigue
Ginseng also suggests itself to be therapeutic in Acute COVID – and binds Spike.
Given that those suffering from PASC and Spike Protein therapy adverse events report fatigue as the most common symptom, I have been searching for a natural therapeutic which may help to alleviate this quality-of-life-reducing affliction. Ginseng may be tailor made to provide such relief. Additionally, Ginseng appears to be therapeutic in treating the Acute phase of COVID as well.
Ginseng is, of course, a universally recognized healing and medicinal herb.
General description
Ginseng is a popular herb. A common name for ginseng is "man-root." This is because the root is shaped like a person. It has benefits for the whole body. The medicinal part is made of the dried main and lateral root and root hairs.
Ginseng commonly refers to Panax quinquefolius L. (American ginseng) or Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer (Korean ginseng). Siberian Ginseng comes from a slightly different family than Panax. It’s called Eleutherococcus senticosus Maxim. Both families of ginseng share the same chemical constituents. Panax ginseng contains saponin glycosides. These are also known as ginsenosides. Siberian ginseng doesn’t contain ginsenosides. But it has another class of compounds called eleutherosides. In all cases, they’re called adaptogens.
Medically valid uses
Animal studies show that ginseng improves stamina. It may also increase the activity of the immune system. There are no established uses for ginseng in humans.
Ginseng
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?contenttypeid=19&contentid=Ginseng
Regarding the medical establishment’s view of Ginseng’s uses, it does appear to increase the activity of the immune system during COVID infection. It also possesses another wonderful property. It BINDS SPIKE!
Researchers used different computational techniques to investigate a natural chemical ingredient of ginseng as a potential inhibitor of the primary protease of SARS-COV-2. Fallah et al. (2021) used seven compounds from Panax ginseng and performed molecular docking, the glide docking program. Floralginsenoside B extracted from Panax ginseng, showed promising binding affinity (−8.618 kcal/mol) with the receptor-binding domain of SARS-CoV-2. This could be a potential candidate for combating the SARS-COV-2 infection. Han et al. investigated Shenmai Injection's (consists of red ginseng + ophiopogon japonicus) molecular interaction network route in the treatment of COVID-19 patients having heart disease and they found that Shenmai Injection can be effective in treating COVID-19 by reducing cytokine storms. Li et al. used Shenfu decoction to treat patients with severe COVID-19 and the study revealed that, it could play an essential role in regulating the anti-viral process, regulating immunity, and reducing inflammation. Moreover, Wang et al. found that the active chemicals in Shengmai injection (consists of red ginseng, ophiopogon japonicus, and schisandra chinensis) can modulate several signaling pathways including CASP3, PTGS2, NOS2, NOS3 which might play a pivotal role in COVID-19 treatment.
Beyond Ginseng’s ability to prevent/treat COVID, it is also useful in treating the most reported symptom of PASC and Spike Protein therapy adverse reactions – the lifestyle crushing symptom of Fatigue. In addition to binding Spike, it also stops SARS-CoV-2 replication. An extraordinary, safe and effective gift (of many) from Nature.
Furthermore, another study proposed that panax ginseng can reduce chronic fatigue syndrome and Fibromyalgia, the common symptoms of COVID-19. Again, Han et al.(2021) experimented with fermented Ginseng (black) and reported that it not only stops SARS-CoV-2 from replicating in the cell, but it also lowers the quantity of viral RNA (vRNA) copies floating around in the extracellular environment.
Ginseng, a promising choice for SARS-COV-2: A mini review
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8783644/
For those who are suffering from not only Post-COVID/Spike fatigue, all suffering from Post-Viral fatigue and Fibromyalgia benefit greatly from Red Ginseng.
This study provides preliminary data on a potentially effective herbal intervention for chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, including patients who suffer from these conditions following viral infections. It is very promising that this intervention was able to significantly improve patients’ clinical outcomes, with 60.1% of subjects improving from their pre-treatment status.
The group that improved reported an average 67% increase in energy, 72% increase in stamina, and 48% improvement in mental clarity, which is a substantial improvement as the result of taking a single agent. This makes HRG80 Red Ginseng a powerful addition to our S.H.I.N.E.® Protocol, which optimizes Sleep, Hormonal function, Immunity, Nutritional support, and limited Exercise, as patients are able. In our earlier randomized placebo-controlled study, the S.H.I.N.E.® protocol resulted in an average of 91% improvement in quality-of-life of those with CFS/FMS [21,23], making these conditions highly treatable.
An Open-Label, Pilot Trial of HRG80™ Red Ginseng in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and Post-Viral Fatigue
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8777686/
Of course, the above is a work of medical research and not medical advice. Always consult your Primary Care Provider before using any supplement or medication.
I am deeply moved by and appreciative of your continuing support, readership and dialog. I wish all the most joyous Resurrection Celebration this Easter Weekend. Blessings, Light, Hope and Peace to all.
Good to know. I live in Wisconsin and had wild Ginseng on the hill tops in my woods. I no longer live at that place but still recognize it when I see it. Happy Easter to you.
Thanks for all the hard work and research that you do. I will add that Ginseng is an interesting medicinal plant. When we talk about "Ginseng" we're mainly talking about Chinese red Panax Ginseng. The root gets its reddish color from a steaming process that it traditionally undergoes that actually alters some of the root's chemical constituents. Other medicinal plants that will sometimes be called "Ginseng" are "Siberian Ginseng" — Eleutherococcus or Eleuthero root — which is not related to real Ginseng but also acts as a powerful tonic adaptogen, and Panax Quinquefolius, or "American Ginseng," which grows in the shady areas of the Wisconsin region.
American Ginseng shares some but not all of the active ginsenosides that Panax Ginseng contains without the stimulating, "warming" ones, making it perhaps a safer tonic for long-term use, though it is quite expensive. Another plant, Gynostemma Pentaphyllum, Jiao Gu Lan, is a sweet tasting leaf made into a lovely tea that has some of the ginsenosides (as well as its own) making it a cheaper adaptogen that is generally safe for long-term use.
Let's get back to Ginseng: Ginseng, in its long use in traditional Chinese medicine is almost never used in acute, external pathogen invasions (colds and flu) because it is a tonifying herb. In an acute situation we are usually trying to expel a pathogen, which generally means we use herbs that are diaphoretic, or have strong detoxifying, anti-viral or anti-bacterial qualities. These herbs are almost always bitter and sometimes spicy, with either cooling or warming qualities. Their use will depend on the unique presentation of the patient — their constitution and the presentation of the disease itself.
It's possible that if a patient was very weak, frail, pale, and cold, with cold symptoms (chills, etc), then Ginseng could be used with other warming herbs that have the previous qualities discussed, like ginger or cinnamon, etc, but it would never be used as a stand alone. This is one of the problems of using functional medicine products (herbs and nutriceuticals) without understanding the traditional medical systems in which they are derived nor the energetics of the plant itself. You treat the patient, not the disease.
All of the Ginsengs, along with the medicinal mushrooms like Reishi, Cordyceps, etc and immune modulators like Astragalus, have a role to play in post-viral syndromes like Long Covid, EBV, CMV, and other chronic viral illnesses. This is an area that the herbs of traditional Chinese medicine excel at. GInseng itself, the Chinese red Panax Ginseng, is used for immune and vitality enhancement, particularly targeted to people over 40 who are more on the depleted, weak, deficient side of things. For younger people or generally healthy people, American Ginseng, Jiao Gu Lan, and perhaps Astragalus or Siberian Ginseng would be better long-term options...