KGC publishes paper on red ginseng's efficacy in blood sugar control

By Ko Dong-hwan

Korea Ginseng Corp. (KGC) said Tuesday its research on red ginseng’s efficacy in safely controlling blood sugar levels for prediabetic adults was published in an international journal.

According to the company, its research and development headquarters recently conducted a placebo-controlled study on red ginseng’s efficacy in controlling blood sugar levels. It published the outcome in the latest edition of the peer-reviewed medical journal Medicine.

In the study, the R&D lab divided 98 prediabetic adults into red ginseng and placebo groups and observed their improvements over 12 weeks. The red ginseng group consumed a 1-gram red ginseng concentrate tablet twice a day.

The red ginseng group showed lower levels of fasting blood sugar, postprandial blood sugar, measured after a meal, and three-month average blood sugar by 9.07 percent, 11.28 percent and 1.68 percent, respectively, compared to the placebo group. Improvements in other biomarkers, such as insulin resistance and insulinogenic index, were also observed.

The KGC said there had been a number of ingredients that were found to help regulate fasting and postprandial blood sugar levels, but red ginseng is the first to be officially recognized by Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for its efficacy across nine blood sugar-related biomarkers.

“This research bears significance because it scientifically proved that consuming red ginseng in the prediabetes stage can help control blood sugar levels effectively and safely,” a KGC official said. “We will continue conducting research on the efficacy, mechanisms and safety of red ginseng for blood sugar regulation with our R&D technologies.”

Diabetes can cause various complications throughout the body, affecting the eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart, brain and peripheral blood vessels.

Diabetes is becoming more common in Korea. The Korean Diabetes Association reports that the prevalence of diabetes increased from 11.8 percent in 2012 to 16.7 percent in 2020.

It is assumed that over 6 million people in Korea have diabetes, while an estimated 15 million are in the prediabetes stage — a high-risk group that may develop the condition.