Dietary red ginseng and skin protection

Abstract

Red ginseng (RG) (the steamed root of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) has been widely used in the Orient and West as a tonic agent, health food, and/or alternative herbal medicine for a wide range of therapeutic applications. RG has also been reported to have therapeutic applications for burn wound healings, inflammation, allergies and aging of skin, but most of these beneficial effects of RG in skin have been based on in vitro research or topical application. In particular, the controversy with respect to scientific evidence on the dietary effects of RG, evaluations of its clinical efficacy on skin protection, and its solid scientific mechanism, remains to be elucidated in depth. However, coupled with developing new insights into the relationship between food, nutrition and skin in recent years, substantial advances have been made in studies of dietary RG and skin protection. In addition, studies on the absorption and metabolism of ginsenosides, the major active components of RG, have been receiving attention. This review paper is concerned with recent developments in our understanding of the metabolism of RG in the human body, as well as the dietary effects of RG on skin protection. Special attention is paid to the dietary effects of RG on wrinkle formation, skin pigmentation, epidermal hyperproliferation, and hydration.