Studies on the Sfety of Korean Ginseng Ingested as Food Substance

고려인삼(高麗人蔘)의 식품학적(食品學的) 안전성(安全性)에 관(關)한 연구(硏究)

In order to study the safety of ginseng ingested as a food substance, rats were fed ginseng added feed (subgroup 1: 0.625g/kg feed; subgroup 2: 1.25g/kg feed; subgroup 3: 2.5g/kg feed) for periods up to 6 months. Growth rates, blood composition, blood cell counts, and histopathological studies were carried out on both the control and test animals to study the effect of ingested ginseng. Following results were obtained: 1. The growth rates of the test and control animals were similar with the exception of the subgroup 3 in the 2-month fed animals who had a lower weight gain, and the subgroup 2 in the 4-month fed group who had a higher weight gain than the controls. 2. Liver, spleen, kidney, brain, lung and heart weights were similar between the test and the controls. 3. RBC, WBC, hematocrit, and hemoglobin values were similar between the test and control animals. the blood composition determination showed a similar level of alkaline phosphatase, triglyceride, total cholesterol, S-GOT, free cholesterol between the test and controls. However, free fatty acid, total lipid and S-GPT levels decreased while phospholipid, total protein, and HDL-cholesterol levels tended to increase. 4. Fl, F2 generations showed no abnormai values in blood count, organ weight and external appearance. 5. No histopathological differences were observed between the test and control animals even after a long-term administration of ginseng. However, there was evidence that ginseng promotes hematopoiesis in test animals. 6. These results suggest that ginseng is not only safe as a food substance but may indeed strengthen the body and help-prevent diseases of old age.