Ginsenoside supplements for ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is a type of cancer that begins in the ovaries, which is among the top ten deadly cancer in women. Despite a relatively low incidence, a failure in early detection limited by hidden signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer contributes to a high mortality rate.

Ovarian cancer patients are recommended to take vitamins A, C, D and E from food or supplements which are good for enhancing immunities. In addition to these supplements, are there any alternatives to choose from?

Ginsenoside supplements can be good choices for ovarian cancer. Ginsenosides are active compounds extracted from ginseng, and its metabolites rare ginsenosides exhibit brilliant anticancer activities against various cancer cell in vitro or in vivo. More than 60 rare ginsenosides have been found and some has been put into application as an adjuvant therapy in cancer treatment in some Asian countries.

Many scientists investigated the anticancer activities of rare ginsenosides on ovarian cancer and the research results indicated that rare ginsenosides have potential as an anticancer agent for ovarian cancer, based on their benefits in inhibiting the growth and proliferation of ovarian cancer cells, inducing apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells, and blocking the ovarian cancer migration.

Japanese researchers examined the effect of oral administration of ginsenoside Rh2 on tumor growth and survival of nude mice bearing human ovarian cancer cells. In the experiments, the survival of nude mice treated with 15 microM and 120 microM ginsenoside Rh2 was also significantly prolonged, compared to that of cisplatin-treated mice.

Chinese scientists found the inhibitory effect of ginsenoside Rg3 on the migration of ovarian cancer cells. Ginsenoside Rg3 inhibited the migratory ability of ovarian cancer cells, repressed Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 in vivo and downregulated the expression of nuclear factor-κ B, which finally resulted in the suppression of ovarian cancer migration.

Another Chinese research team studied the anticancer effects of ginsenoside Rh3 on ovarian cancer cells, revealing that ginsenoside Rh3 can significantly inhibit the growth and proliferation of ovarian cancer cells and induce apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells.

Seeing the anticancer potentials of rare ginsenosides, many pharmaceutical companies devoted themselves to the research of rare ginsenoside products. The supplements containing ginsenosides Rh2, Rg3 and Rh3 are available on the market now. Patients with ovarian cancer should remember to consult your doctors first before taking any ginsenoside supplements.