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I read with interest the report by Vuksan et al¹ on the effects of American ginseng in subjects both with and without diabetes. The authors cautioned that, because American ginseng attenuated postprandial glycemia in both study groups, it should be taken with meals to prevent unintended hypoglycemia in subjects without diabetes. But there is another important clinical implication of their finding that needs emphasis, ie, potentially serious consequences of drug interactions between American ginseng and other hypoglycemic drugs. For patients with diabetes being treated with either insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents, concurrent use of American ginseng, whether intended or unintended, may precipitate or aggravate a hypoglycemic reaction.

The Chinese discovered ginseng and used it as a revitalizing agent since time immemorial. The commercial product of ginseng comes from 2 species of the genus Panax in the family Araliaceae.² These species are Panax ginseng CA Meyer, which is the source plant . . . [Full Text of this Article]

RELATED ARTICLE

American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L) Reduces Postprandial Glycemia in Nondiabetic Subjects and Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Vladimir Vuksan, John L. Sievenpiper, Vernon Y. Y. Koo, Thomas Francis, Uljana Beljan-Zdravkovic, Zheng Xu, and Edward Vidgen
Arch Intern Med. 2000;160(7):1009-1013.
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