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Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolius: From pharmacology to toxicology
Mancuso C, Santangelo R.. Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association, 2017-07-08
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
The use of Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolius in traditional Chinese medicine dates back to about 5000 years ago thanks to its several beneficial and healing properties. Over the past few years, extensive preclinical and clinical evidence in the scientific literature worldwide has supported the beneficial effects of P. ginseng and P. quinquefolius in significant central nervous system, metabolic, infectious and neoplastic diseases. There has been growing research on ginseng because of its favorable pharmacokinetics, including the intestinal biotransformation which is responsible for the processing of ginsenosides - contained in the roots or extracts of ginseng - into metabolites with high pharmacological activity and how such principles act on numerous cell targets. The aim of this review is to provide a simple and extensive overview of the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of P. ginseng and P. quinquefolius, focusing on the clinical evidence which has shown particular effectiveness in specific diseases, such as dementia, diabetes mellitus, respiratory infections, and cancer. Furthermore, the review will also provide data on toxicological factors to support the favorable safety profile of these medicinal plants.
Key findings
- Over the past few years, extensive preclinical and clinical evidence in the scientific literature worldwide has supported the beneficial effects of P. ginseng and P. quinquefolius in significant central nervous system, metabolic, infectious and neoplastic diseases.
Why it matters
This review states that preclinical and clinical evidence supports beneficial effects of Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolius in diseases including dementia. It provides an overview of these plants and their safety, but does not establish that they treat or prevent Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 45/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Food and Chemical Toxicology: journal h-index 260 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2017 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 383 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 34.8 citations a year over 11 year(s) since 2017 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 7.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 149 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Rosaria Santangelo: h-index 29 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore: institution h-index 606 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 28698154) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 45 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Mancuso, C., & Santangelo, R. (2017). Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolius: From pharmacology to toxicology. Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2017.07.019
Vancouver
Mancuso C, Santangelo R. Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolius: From pharmacology to toxicology. Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association. 2017. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2017.07.019. PMID: 28698154.
BibTeX
@article{mancuso2017-28698154,
author = {Mancuso, C. and Santangelo, R.},
title = {{Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolius: From pharmacology to toxicology}},
journal = {Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1016/j.fct.2017.07.019},
pmid = {28698154},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2017.07.019}
}
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