[Sponsored Report] Ginseng berries, green tea proven to boost immunity

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[Sponsored Report] Ginseng berries, green tea proven to boost immunity

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Ginseng berry is known for boosting the immune system and fighting against viruses such as influenza. [AMOREPACIFIC]

Amid health concerns due to the recent coronavirus outbreak, studies showing the antiviral effects of ginseng berry and green tea have caught many people’s attention. Experts believe that the continuous intake of healthy foods like ginseng berry and green tea will not only boost one’s immune system but also prevent viral epidemics as well.

Ginseng berry, a fruit from four-year-old ginseng, is known for enhancing one’s immunity system, and its saponin, a proven healthy component, is more than three times that of ginseng itself. Many researchers from all over the world have focused on its health benefits, and recently they have discovered it effects on viruses.

According to a joint research study conducted by Amorepacific and Jeonbuk National University in 2018, ginseng berry could prevent influenza virus infected cells from proliferating by curbing specific enzymes. Also, in the experiment, there was a significant decrease in the number of viruses in the animals that ate the ginseng berry, and common symptoms such as inflammation and lung infection disappeared.

Similar studies from Kyonggi University and Sungkyunkwan University also confirmed that ginseng berry could prevent lung cancer and enhance the function of the thymus gland, an important part of the immune system known to create virus-killing T-cells. These studies also showed that the ginseng berry could have significant health benefits for the elderly.

Along with ginseng berry, green tea, a well-known super food, has also been found to decrease the strength of viruses. Green tea’s catechin, a type of biological response modifier, can curb germs like helicobacter pylori as well as viruses such as influenza and H.I.V.

Song Jae-min, an expert in virus and infection immunity at Sungshin University, has found that extracts from green tea can play a significant role in preventing viruses from spreading in the body. Through many experiments, he confirmed that green tea extract can eliminate three types of influenza viruses: H1N1, H3N2, and Yamagata. Also, in his book “Tea in Health and Disease Prevention,” he wrote that green tea’s catechin expedites the proliferation of T-cells and interferon-gamma synthesis which eventually boosts the antiviral effect.

“In many experiments, green tea extracts actually destroyed the viruses.” he said. “Harvard Medical School’s research has also shown that 30 percent of cold and flu symptoms were eliminated among people who took catechin for 3 months, which clearly shows the significant effects of green tea.”

By Park Ji-hoon [park.jihoon@joongang.co.kr]
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