Ginseng Dims Blood Thinner's Potency
 (HealthDayNews, 7/7/04)

Dr. Chun-Su Yuan of the Tang Center for Herbal Medicine Research at the University of Chicago, and team, assigned 20 healthy, young subjects to take 5 mg of the blood thinner, warfarin (Coumadin), daily for three days during the first week and another three during the last week of a four-week study. Starting in the second week, 12 subjects also began taking 2 mg of ginseng; while 8 took a placebo. The researchers found that, after two weeks of taking ginseng, the herb seemed to reduce blood levels of the warfarin. The scientists speculate that ginseng lowers concentrations by increasing the rate at which the liver removes it from the body. These findings indicate that ginseng may decrease the potency of warfarin and thereby compromise its protective effect on the cardiovascular system.

(Annals of Internal Medicine, 7/6/04).