The UK's medicines and healthcare products regulatory agency (MHRA) says it is reviewing recent evidence on ginseng and is advising women to avoid taking the herbal during pregnancy or lactation.
The advice follows a new study published in Human Reproduction last week which suggests that ginsenosides (the substances believed to be the major active ingredient of ginseng) may have effects on normal embryonic development in rats.
The MHRA said it is currently reviewing the study but has issued the advice prior to its findings. The advice does not apply to Siberian ginseng or Eleutheroccus senticosus, which is unrelated to Panax ginseng and contains different chemical constituents.