Zhang, Haijing, Zhao, Chunhui, Hou, Jinli et al. · Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022 · DOI
This study tested whether red ginseng extract could help mice with chronic fatigue by improving how their muscles produce energy. Researchers found that medium and high doses of red ginseng reduced markers of fatigue and improved the function of mitochondria (the "power plants" inside muscle cells), helping restore the muscle's ability to generate energy.
ME/CFS is characterized by postexertional malaise and energy deficit at the cellular level. This mechanistic study identifies a potential botanical intervention that targets mitochondrial dysfunction and impaired ATP production—core pathophysiological features proposed in ME/CFS—providing pre-clinical rationale for further translational research.
This study does not prove red ginseng is effective in human ME/CFS patients; it only demonstrates mechanism of action in a mouse model of stress-induced fatigue. The chronic fatigue model used may not fully recapitulate ME/CFS pathophysiology, and results cannot be directly extrapolated to humans without clinical trials. Causation of fatigue improvement cannot be definitively attributed to any single pathway.
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
Zhang, Haijing, Zhao, Chunhui, Hou, Jinli, Su, Ping, Yang, Yifei, Xia, Bing, et al. (2022). Red ginseng extract improves skeletal muscle energy metabolism and mitochondrial function in chronic fatigue mice.. Frontiers in pharmacology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2022.1077249
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-zhang-2022-red-ginseng,
author = {Zhang, Haijing and Zhao, Chunhui and Hou, Jinli and Su, Ping and Yang, Yifei and Xia, Bing and Zhao, Xiaoang and He, Rong and Wang, Lifang and Cao, Chunyu and Liu, Ting and Tian, Jixiang},
title = {Red ginseng extract improves skeletal muscle energy metabolism and mitochondrial function in chronic fatigue mice.},
journal = {Frontiers in pharmacology},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.3389/fphar.2022.1077249},
note = {PubMed: 36618917},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/zhang-2022-red-ginseng},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/zhang-2022-red-ginseng
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