Anti-fatigue effect from Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma: a suggestive and promising treatment for long COVID

Abstract

Two years after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, an increasing number of patients continue to suffer from long COVID (LC), persistent symptoms, and/or delayed or long-term complications beyond the initial 4weeks from the onset of symptoms. Constant fatigue is one of the most common LC symptoms, leading to severely reduced quality of life among patients.Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma—known as the King of Herbs in traditional Chinese medicine—has shown clinical anti-fatigue effects. In this review, we summarize the underlying anti-fatigue mechanisms of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma extracts and their bioactive compounds, with a special focus on anti-viral, immune remodeling, endocrine system regulation, and metabolism, suggesting that Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma is a potentially promising treatment for LC, especially regarding targeting fatigue.

Keywords

Fatigue / Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma / Long COVID / SARS-CoV-2

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Funding

This project was funded by the Science & Technology Development Fund of the Tianjin Education Commission for Higher Education (2018KJ010).Author contributions

Author contributions

Yu Wang and Yanyan Wang conceived and designed the review; Xiangda Zhou and Keying Zhang drafted this article; and Yu Wang, Yanyan Wang, Bin Qu, Rui Shao, Qianru Zhao, Lanbo Liu, and Ming Huang revised the manuscript. All the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Ethical approval of studies and informed consent

Not applicable

Acknowledgements

None.

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