Asthma restricts the air flow both in and out of the lungs. Typical symptoms of asthma sufferers include shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing. Most asthmatics will have periodic attacks when the symptoms are at their worst, but are often free of problems otherwise. The challenge with this chronic ailment is that, over time, irreversible damage will occur to both the airways and the tissues of the lungs, worsening the condition.
Conventional medical therapy for asthma will generally include inhaled steroids. This controls symptoms but does not reverse damage to tissues. Patients using steroids are also subject to serious side effects, including cataracts, osteoporosis and lowered immune systems.
Given the seriousness of asthma as a chronic condition and the issues with current drug therapies, a new study looked at whether the use of ginseng as a supplement would work to reduce lung damage in asthmatics.
The study used mice as test subjects. Asthmatic mice were divided into 4 test groups: control, placebo, ginseng and dexamethasone (a steroid drug). All mice except those in the control group were exposed to a known asthma irritant. After the sensitization phase, mice in the ginseng group were given 2 grams of ginseng per kilogram weight per day. Mice in the steroid group were given 1 milligrams of dexamethasone per kilogram weight per day.
After the test period, lung cell damage was evaluated by using light and electron microscopy on all test subjects. All chronic changes in the airways of the ginseng group were significantly improved compared to the placebo group. When compared to the test subjects in the steroid group, the ginseng test subjects actually had much lower mast cell counts. This result is very important, as mast cells are a significant player in the inflammatory process.
Steroids were much more effective at reducing the goblet cells in test subjects. Goblet cells are the mucous secreting cells in the lungs and airways. However, steroids did not reverse lung cell damage.
Source: NaturalNews.com
