Park, Hyun-Jung, Shim, Hyun Soo, Lee, Sunyoung et al. · BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2018 · DOI
Researchers tested whether a supplement made from human placenta could help reduce stress-related depression and fatigue in rats. They found that rats treated with this supplement showed improvements in depression-like behaviors and had better antioxidant protection in their brains compared to untreated rats.
ME/CFS patients frequently experience stress-related exacerbations and oxidative stress is implicated in disease pathophysiology. This study provides preliminary mechanistic evidence that compounds reducing oxidative stress and modulating stress-response pathways may have therapeutic potential, though human studies are essential before clinical application.
This rat study cannot establish that human placenta extract is safe or effective in ME/CFS patients; animal stress models do not fully replicate human disease complexity. The study demonstrates association between hPH treatment and biochemical changes, but does not prove these changes are causally responsible for behavioral improvements or would translate to clinical benefit in humans.
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
Park, Hyun-Jung, Shim, Hyun Soo, Lee, Sunyoung, Hahm, Dae Hyun, Lee, Hyejung, Oh, Chang Taek, et al. (2018). Anti-stress effects of human placenta extract: possible involvement of the oxidative stress system in rats.. BMC complementary and alternative medicine. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-018-2193-x
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-park-2018-anti-stress,
author = {Park, Hyun-Jung and Shim, Hyun Soo and Lee, Sunyoung and Hahm, Dae Hyun and Lee, Hyejung and Oh, Chang Taek and Han, Hae Jung and Ji, Hyi Jeong and Shim, Insop},
title = {Anti-stress effects of human placenta extract: possible involvement of the oxidative stress system in rats.},
journal = {BMC complementary and alternative medicine},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1186/s12906-018-2193-x},
note = {PubMed: 29739458},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/park-2018-anti-stress},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/park-2018-anti-stress
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.