Suspected flu patient in the fourth week of October
73.4% increase from the previous week
Vaccine efficacy should be increased by consuming red ginseng
Allergies caused by fine dust can be eliminated
Respiratory viruses such as COVID-19 and flu are becoming prevalent due to the premature cold spell. Experts emphasize that you should take active care in managing your health by not only maintaining personal hygiene but also consuming the nutrients necessary to strengthen immunity. Red ginseng is a representative food that helps boost immunity.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the 8th, as of the fourth week of October, the number of suspected flu patients complaining of high fever over 38 degrees, cough, and sore throat was 32.6 per 1,000 people. This is a 73.4% increase from the previous week (18.8 people) and is five times higher than the annual average (6.5 people). As fine dust was added to the sudden cold wave, a red light was turned on for respiratory health.
Experts emphasize that in order to prevent viral infections, you must pay attention to your daily immune system. Personal hygiene, such as hand washing, as well as vaccination and nutritional intake can be helpful.
Ginseng and red ginseng are foods that have been recognized by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety as functional for improving immunity. In particular, red ginseng is attracting attention due to domestic and international research results showing that it enhances the efficacy of vaccinated vaccines and increases defense against viruses.
To show that red ginseng enhances the efficacy of pneumococcal vaccines, Professor Lee Dong-kwon’s team at Sungkyunkwan University’s College of Pharmacy had experimental mice consume red ginseng (100 mg/kg) for 15 days. After administering the vaccine (Δpep27), they were infected with pneumococci 7 days later, and it was found that the antibody production rate increased by about 25% compared to when only the vaccine was administered.
Professor Lee’s team also conducted an experiment in which 100 mg/kg of red ginseng and saline solution were administered daily to mice infected with pneumococcus and observed for 15 days. As a result, only 50% of the group fed saline solution survived, while the group fed red ginseng survived 100%. In addition, it was confirmed that the number of inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-1β and the number of pneumococci were significantly reduced in the red ginseng group compared to the control group.
Professor Lee said, “Red ginseng regulates various immune cells in a balanced manner, and is especially involved in activating innate immune cells such as NK cells and acquired immune cells such as T cells and B cells.” He added, “It also helps suppress viruses and pneumococci. “It works,” he said.
Professor Kang Sang-moo’s team at Georgia State University School of Medicine in the U.S. infected experimental mice with the new flu virus and compared survival rates. As a result, when the vaccine and red ginseng were administered together, the survival rate was 100%. It was found that the rate was 60% for those vaccinated only and 40% for regular mice. Professor Kang’s team infected another experimental mouse with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and the results showed that the number of viruses in the red ginseng group was 45% lower than the control group. In contrast, CD8+ T cells and CD4 T cells, which are immune cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, increased 9.24-fold and 9.5-fold, respectively, in the red ginseng group.
Photo source = Pixabay
Among the various components of red ginseng, the substance that has an effect on strengthening immunity is red ginseng polysaccharide. Red ginseng polysaccharide promotes innate immunity by inducing the activity of macrophages. In addition, ginsenoside, a type of saponin, is known to have an inflammation-suppressing effect.
Red ginseng is also excellent at eliminating allergies caused by fine dust. Previously, a research team led by Professor Lee Deok-cheol of the Department of Family Medicine at Severance Hospital and Professor Kim Jeong-ha of the Department of Family Medicine at Chung-Ang University Hospital revealed that red ginseng has an improving effect on allergic lung inflammation caused by fine dust. For the experiment, the research team exposed mice to fine dust to induce allergic lung inflammation in bronchi and lung cells, then orally administered red ginseng powder and an anti-inflammatory drug (dexamethasone) for six weeks. As a result, the level of inflammatory substances (cytokines) generated in the bronchi and alveoli was found to be very low in the group administered red ginseng. In lung biopsy, the level of inflammation was significantly reduced in the red ginseng group.
2023-11-08 05:54:04
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