While herbal remedies like ginseng have been touted as alternative treatments, the evidence to support their use has been lacking. Ginseng's root contains several active substances, called either ginsenosides or panaxosides that are thought to be responsible for the medicinal effects of the herb.
Scientists at the Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, recruited 119 men with mild to moderate erectile dysfunction. The group was split into two, while half took four tablets a day containing extracts of Korean ginseng berry, the rest took identical dummy pills.
