Around 20% of patients who suffer from severe depression can also experience less severe symptoms. Although they are less severe, they are persistent symptoms that refuse to go away without treatment. Recently, Korean red ginseng has been investigated as a way to treat many of these symptoms, from fatigue and stress to depression. Korean red ginseng has been shown to have antidepressant effects in some patients with stress-related symptoms.
A team of researchers in Seoul, South Korea has decided to study the effects of Korean red ginseng in patients with less severe symptoms of depression. This study took place over eight weeks. The participants were 35 female adults patients, who were diagnosed with depression and were given 3 grams per day of Korean red ginseng.
Several scales were used in measuring the effectiveness of Asian ginseng, including the Depression Residual Symptom Scale (DRSS), the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), and the Clinical Global Impressions Scale for Severity (CGI-S). The general severity of symptoms was assessed by a clinician using the Clinical Global Impressions Scale for Severity (CGI-S).
At the end of the study, the participants showed significant improvement on all the scales. The test reported a notable reduction in depression symptoms after the eight weeks. Physical and emotional symptoms of depression were both diminished, and the severity of symptoms was reduced as well.
This result proved that Korean red ginseng is an excellent and reliable treatment for women with depression who experience less severe symptoms. Asian ginseng is an essential, powerful, and low-cost treatment compared to other antidepressant methods, decreasing severe and mild depression symptoms. However, future studies are required to confirm ginseng's powerful effects.
