Pregnant mothers told not to take ginseng

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Article Date: 26 Sep 2003 - 0:00 PDT

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Ginseng, the most commonly used herbal medicine worldwide, contains a chemical, called ginsenoside Rb1, which may harm a growing fetus, new findings suggest. Until further research is available, women should be cautious about using the herb during early pregnancy.

'Although there are numerous reports in the literature concerning the potential benefit of ginseng, much less is known about the potential toxicity and there are no data about its potential effect on the developing human fetus,' lead author Dr. Louis Chan, from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in Shatin, said in a statement.

Recent survey results suggest that ginseng use during pregnancy is common, he noted, with up to 10% of women in certain Asian countries reporting such use.

In the new study, reported in the medical journal Human Reproduction, Dr. Chan's team used rat embryos to assess the effect of different ginsenoside doses on growth and development.

Overall growth and development was impaired in ginsenoside-exposed embryos compared with unexposed embryos and the degree of impairment increased as the ginsenoside dose rose. In particular, a big drop in arm and leg development was noted.

'Although results from animal...studies may not reflect circumstances in humans, our findings suggest that further investigations and monitoring of embryonic effects of ginsenoside on human pregnancy are warranted,' the investigators conclude.

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