Antitumoral activity of Panax ginseng extracts.

Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer (Araliacea) has been known for thousands of years in the Far East as a remedy effective against a multitude of ailments. Recently ginseng preparations have been tested for antineoplastic properties by Soviet and American investigators. Lazarev (1) reported that an extract of ginseng roots inhibited the growth of the murine Ehrlich carcinoma by 15 to 48%, while Yaremenko (2) obtained variable results in tests with Ehrlich cells, and no effect against the Walker tumor of rats. Abbott and co-workers (3) tested water and ethanol extracts of Panax quinquefolius L. (American ginseng) against murine tumors sarcoma 180 (S 180), adenocarcinoma 755 (Ca 755), and leukemia 1210 (L 1210) with negative results. A sample of Formosan Panax ginseng was ineffective in various test system (J. Hartwell, personal communication). The source of ginseng roots may be related to their pharmacologic effectiveness, as slight differences have been reported (4) in the composition of ginseng root varieties from different localities.