Forget Viagra, a tablet made from ginseng could boost a man’s love life: Research claims herbal remedy really does work
Ginsend has been used in Chinese herbal medicine for thousands of years
Now study claims it can help men with impotence in just eight weeks
Impotence affects one in 10 men in the UK at some point in their lives
By Pat Hagan for MailOnline
Published: 13:00 BST, 8 January 2013 | Updated: 13:00 BST, 8 January 2013
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Ginseng: New research from South Korea claims the herbal remedy, a traditional aphrodisiac, can indeed help men combat erectile dysfunction
It’s long been used by the Chinese as an aphrodisiac, but new research claims tablets made from ginseng really can perk up a man’s love life.
A South Korean study found men with erectile dysfunction improved their performance in the bedroom after taking the tablets for just a few weeks.
Although some previous studies have suggested ginseng can help tackle impotence, many have been conducted in mice.
The latest research involved more than 100 men who had been diagnosed with erection problems.
Impotence affects one in ten men in the UK at some point in their lives.
Although drugs such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra have revolutionised treatment in the last ten years, around 30 per cent of men who take them see no improvement.
For these men, the only other options are to inject drugs straight into the penis, or use a pump that manually increases blood supply to the organ.
Neither is very popular.
While herbal remedies like ginseng have been touted as alternative treatments, the evidence to support their use has been lacking.
Ginseng is a plant that has been used for thousands of years to bolster overall health.
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A CURSE FOR MANY OLDER MEN
Impotence, also known as erectile dysfunction, is where a man is unable to get a proper erection. The condition affects one in ten men in the UK at some point in their lives.
Most cases are due to narrowing of the arteries that take blood to the penis due to a build of the same kind of plaque that causes heart disease.
Erectile dysfunction can occur at any time of life, but it becomes more common with age. As much as half of men over 40 suffer from it, 레비트라부작용 rising to about 70 per cent of over-70s.
As with heart disease, smoking and heavy drinking can significantly increase the risk.
The root contains several active substances, called either ginsenosides or panaxosides, that are thought to be responsible for the medicinal effects of the herb.
Scientists at the Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, recruited 119 men with mild to moderate erectile dysfunction.
The group was split into two and while half took four tablets a day containing extracts of Korean ginseng berry, the rest took identical dummy pills.
After eight weeks, researchers measured improvements by using a recognised scale called the International Index of Erectile Dysfunction.
The results, published in the International Journal of Impotence Research, showed a small but significant improvement in sexual function in the ginseng group compared to those on the dummy tablets.
In a report on their findings the researchers said: ‘Korean ginseng berry extract improved all domains of sexual function.
‘It can be used as an alternative to medicine to improve sexual life in men.’
