Hartz, A J, Bentler, S, Noyes, R et al. · Psychological medicine · 2004 · DOI
This study tested whether Siberian ginseng could reduce fatigue in people with chronic fatigue lasting at least 6 months. Ninety-six people took either Siberian ginseng or a placebo pill for 2 months. While both groups improved during the study, the ginseng did not work better than placebo overall, though it showed some promise in people with moderate (not severe) fatigue.
This study addresses the common clinical scenario of patients with ME/CFS seeking herbal remedies when conventional treatments are ineffective. The findings suggest that while Siberian ginseng may warrant further investigation in specific patient subgroups, it should not be recommended as a general treatment for chronic fatigue based on current evidence.
This study does not prove that Siberian ginseng is ineffective for all patients with chronic fatigue—subgroup findings suggest possible benefit in moderate fatigue cases, but these were not pre-specified and lack statistical adjustment. The study cannot establish whether the substantial improvement in both groups reflects true treatment effect, placebo response, natural recovery, or other factors. High attrition (20 subjects lost to follow-up) limits confidence in the 2-month findings.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Hartz, A J, Bentler, S, Noyes, R, Hoehns, J, Logemann, C, Sinift, S, et al. (2004). Randomized controlled trial of Siberian ginseng for chronic fatigue.. Psychological medicine. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291703008791
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-hartz-2004-randomized-controlled,
author = {Hartz, A J and Bentler, S and Noyes, R and Hoehns, J and Logemann, C and Sinift, S and Butani, Y and Wang, W and Brake, K and Ernst, M and Kautzman, H},
title = {Randomized controlled trial of Siberian ginseng for chronic fatigue.},
journal = {Psychological medicine},
year = {2004},
doi = {10.1017/s0033291703008791},
note = {PubMed: 14971626},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hartz-2004-randomized-controlled},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hartz-2004-randomized-controlled
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