The Korea Ginseng Association announced that Korean ginseng was registered as a 'functional ingredient for improving liver health' by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

The term "Functional ingredient" refers to food properties or ingredients recognized by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, a national government agency that oversees the safety of food and health functional foods in Korea.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's recognition of Korean ginseng as a 'functional ingredient for improving liver health' was based on a 5-year clinical study conducted by the research team of the Geumsan Ginseng Herb Industry Promotion Institute.

The research team gave ginseng extract of 2.4g per day for 12 weeks to 60 men and women between the ages of 19 and 70 whose liver levels were slightly higher than the normal range. After 12 weeks, ALT, which increases with damaged liver cells, decreased by 15.67%.

In addition, in the case of alcohol-related liver disease or biliary tract disease, gamma GT also decreased by 5.93%, showing a marked improvement. As a result of this study, Korean ginseng's officially recognized health benefits increased to 4 factors: improved bone health, immune system, fatigue recovery, and now liver health.

The researchers found that heating ginseng saponins over time produces saponin and amino sugar compounds such as ginsenosides Rg3, Rg5, and Rk1. These components show excellent effects in antioxidative activity, anticancer, blood circulation improvement, and memory enhancement. In particular, the polysaccharide component in ginseng is known to be helpful in enhancing the immune systems.

Ban Sang-bae, the president of the Korea Ginseng Association said, "As Korean ginseng is officially registered as a health functional ingredient by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the possibility of developing various health functional foods using ginseng and ways to improve consumability of ginseng has begun. I hope many people will take advantage of the ginseng's benefits to keep the liver healthy."

Meanwhile, the Korea Ginseng Association is a corporation under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of the Republic of Korea. Its purpose is to promote the healthy development of the ginseng industry, to globalize Korean ginseng. You can find detailed information about Korean ginseng from its website. (http://korean-ginseng.org/en2/)

Source: The Korea Ginseng Association