The Effect of North American Ginseng on Blood Pressure in Individuals With Hypertension

Status

Completed

Phases

Phase 3

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT00219960

Enrollment

Registered

2005-09-22

Start date

2001-04-30

Completion date

2003-10-31

Last updated

2005-09-22

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Hypertension

Keywords

Hypertension, Blood Pressure, Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring, Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Herbal, North American Ginseng, Panax Quinquefolius

Brief summary

To determine the effect of North American ginseng on blood pressure in individuals with hypertension.

Detailed description

Ginseng lacks proper clinical scrutiny for its effect on blood pressure (BP), in spite of observational evidence linking its intake to hypertension. This should be addressed considering the potential overlap between the prevalence of ginseng use and hypertension. We undertook a single centre, randomized, controlled, double-blinded, crossover trial to determine the effect of North American ginseng (NAG) on 24-hour BP and renal function. After a 4-week placebo run-in, we randomly assigned participants to NAG or placebo treatment for 12-weeks at a dose of 3g/day. This was followed by an 8-week washout, and a subsequent 12-week period in which the opposite treatment was consumed. At run-in, and at weeks 0 and 12 of each treatment period, participants were fitted with an ambulatory BP monitor to assess 24-hour BP and serum cystatin C was measured.

Interventions

DRUGNorth American Ginseng (Panax Quinquefolius)

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

CROSSOVER

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 85 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* aged 18 to 85 years * hypertension as defined by the use of antihypertensive drugs or a seated systolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 140 mm Hg or a diastolic BP greater than or equal to 90 mm Hg at each of 3 pre-study visits.

Exclusion criteria

* secondary hypertension * diabetes * kidney * liver disease * unstable angina * ginseng use for two months prior to or during the study * any changes in the type or dose of antihypertensive drugs one month prior to or during the study

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Mean 24 Hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Mean Daytime Ambulatory Blood Pressure	—
Mean Nighttime Ambulatory Blood Pressure	—
Cystatin C	—

Countries

Canada

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026