Study: Gingseng May Help Fight Cancer
(AP, 6/2/07)

Preliminary tests of American ginseng and of flaxseed indicate that these natural substances may benefit cancer patients. Debra Barton of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, tested the effect of powdered Wisconsin ginseng root, which is different from the Asian variety, on cancer-related fatigue. She randomly assigned 282 cancer patients to take either 750, 1,000 or 2,000 mg of ginseng or a placebo each day for eight weeks. She found that a quarter of those on the two highest doses reported less fatigue, compared with only 10% of those on the lower dose or the placebos. In a separate study, Wendy Demark-Wahnefried of Duke University Medical Center, and team, assigned four groups of about 40 men who were scheduled for prostate removal in three weeks to take either 30 grams of powdered flaxseed, a low-fat diet, both or neither. After surgery, the researchers found that the rate of growth of the tumors in the two flaxseed groups was 30 to 40 % slower; while, the low-fat diet had no effect. These findings suggest that flaxseed may slow prostate cancer growth; while American ginseng may lessen the fatigue associated with cancer.

(American Society of Clinical Oncology conference, 2007)