Want to improve memory? Eat more ginseng

Consumption of ginseng and red ginseng (hongsam) can improve memory capacity and prevent high blood pressure, diabetes and muscle loss, according to recent studies.

The Korean Society of Ginseng on Tuesday said these benefits were cited by studies presented at the 13th International Ginseng Symposium that ran from Oct. 25-28. Ginseng and red ginseng were also found to reduce bone and muscle loss and lower high blood pressure in diabetics.

Dr. Oh Se-kwan, a medical professor at Ewha Womans University who led one study, said, "Red ginseng was proven effective for raising learning and memory capacity."

His team put 48 lab mice aged six to eight weeks into six groups, applied stress to them, gave them varying doses of red ginseng extract and conducted tests of direction.

One result was that the group receiving red ginseng found their exit at a similar speed to that with no stress applied. Another finding was that the same ginseng lowered the levels of Interleukin-6 and Interleukin-8, two inflammatory markers that rise due to stress.

The study also found that red ginseng promotes balance in intestinal microbes. A research team from the University of Michigan of the US conducted its own tests on 21 mice in four groups that received antibiotics. One group was given water and the others varying doses of red ginseng extract.

A researcher said the red ginseng group saw lower diversity of intestinal microbes and suppressed damage of intestinal layers as well as prevention of muscle loss.

Soonchunhyang University professor Kwon Hyog-young said, "Ginseng can inhibit muscle loss and deterioration." The studies discovered that when older lab mice ingested Ginsenoside R, a pharmacologically active component in ginseng, their muscle cells not only grew bigger than those of the control group but rivaled the muscle strength of a normal adult mouse.

Write to Jeong-Min Nam at peux@hankyung.com