성조숙증의 한약치료 안전성 고찰

A Study on the Safety of Korean Medicine Treatment for Precocious Puberty: Focusing on Ginseng

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not herbal medicines can induce precocious puberty. Related studies were reviewed on ginseng, which has been pointed out as a risk factor owing to estrogenic activity. Methods: Pubmed, Google Scholarship, UptoDate Scholastic, and RISS were used as search sources. A combination of ‘precocious puberty’, ‘early puberty’, ‘herbal medicine’, ‘Korean medicine’, ‘ginseng’, and ‘ginsenoside’ was used as a search term. Without regard to the year of publication, literature in both Korean and English was examined. Results: Ginseng exhibits potent estrogen-like effects in in vitro studies; however, in vivo studies show that estrogen-like effects only appear in high doses of ginseng extracts. There is no clear evidence of the potential for ginseng to induce precocious puberty. Rather, ginseng has a positive effect on preventing precocious puberty through its anti-obesity and protective effect on bisphenol A. Conclusions: Since the estrogen-like effects of ginsenoside were observed only at high doses in in vivo studies, more detailed and well-designed studies are needed in the future. Ginseng may not cause precocious puberty if prescribed under the diagnosis of Korean medicine doctor, and can be a viable option for the treatment of precocious puberty.