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Red ginseng found to stop influenza A cell replication: Unist researchers

Published: 18 Dec. 2025, 12:13 Updated: 25 Dec. 2025, 15:15

A worker stocks health supplements and red ginseng products on a shelf at a supermarket in Seoul on March 2, 2020. [YONHAP]

Red ginseng, a traditional herbal supplement, can block influenza A by activating the body’s natural ability to eliminate virus-infected cells, a research team from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (Unist) said on Thursday.

The findings come from a research group led by Lee Sang-joon, a professor of biological sciences at Unist, who investigated how red ginseng interacts with the influenza virus through cell and animal experiments.

Influenza is a respiratory infectious disease that causes symptoms, such as high fever and coughing, and spreads mainly during winter. This year, influenza A, particularly the H3N2 strain, has spread earlier and more rapidly than last year, according to health authorities.

In laboratory experiments, the team infected cells with influenza A and treated them with red ginseng. Compared with untreated cells, the infected cells exposed to red ginseng showed higher rates of cell death and a marked reduction in viral protein expression.

The researchers found that this effect occurred only in cells that expressed ZBP1, a gene known to detect virus-infected abnormal cells and trigger immune responses. The results confirmed that red ginseng’s antiviral action works through the ZBP1 pathway.

Animal tests produced similar results. The team administered red ginseng for seven days to normal mice and to mice genetically modified to lack ZBP1 before infecting them with influenza A. Normal mice showed less lung tissue damage and inflammation and had significantly higher survival rates than control mice infected with the virus alone. The ZBP1-deficient mice did not show these improvements.

Lee Sang-joon, a professor of biological sciences at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) [UNIST]

The findings suggest that red ginseng activates a ZBP1-based cell death pathway that helps the body remove influenza-infected cells, thereby suppressing viral replication.

The study was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Microbiology, an international medical journal listed by the Science Citation Index Expanded.

“This study is meaningful in that red ginseng suppresses viral replication safely without triggering excessive immune responses,” Lee said. “Because different viruses use the ZBP1 pathway differently, we plan to expand our research to identify how red ginseng works against a wider range of viral infections.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JUNG JONG-HOON [[email protected]]