A Review of Ginseng Clinical Trials Registered in the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform

Table 1

General characteristics of registered ginseng trials.

Characteristic	Category	Total ( = 134) [ (%)]
Recruitment status	Not yet recruiting	11 (8.2)
	Recruiting	31 (23.1)
	Completed	81 (60.4)
	Enrolling by invitation	1 (0.7)
	Active, not recruiting	7 (5.2)
	Available	2 (1.5)
	Suspended	1 (0.7)
Phase	Phase 0	2 (1.5)
	Phase 1	11 (8.2)
	Phase 1Phase 2	7 (5.2)
	Phase 2	29 (21.6)
	Phase 2Phase 3	7 (5.2)
	Phase 3	22 (16.4)
	Phase 4	10 (7.5)
	Unknown/missing	46 (34.3)
Endpoint classification	Safety/efficacy	80 (59.7)
	Safety	9 (6.7)
	Efficacy	36 (26.9)
	Pharmacokinetics	5 (3.7)
	Pharmacodynamics	1 (0.7)
	Bioavailability	3 (2.2)
Primary purpose	Treatment	71 (53)
	Supportive care	25 (18.7)
	Prevention	19 (14.2)
	Basic science	16 (11.9)
	Unknown/missing	3 (2.2)
Gender	Both	106 (79.1)
	Male	19 (14.2)
	Female	9 (6.7)
Age group	Child	4 (3.0)
	Childadult	2 (1.5)
	Childadultsenior	1 (0.7)
	Adult	52 (38.8)
	Adultsenior	75 (56.0)
Funding source	Industry	44 (32.8)
	Nonindustry	90 (67.2)
Intervention model	Parallel assignment	102 (76.1)
	Crossover assignment	24 (17.9)
	Factorial assignment	1 (0.7)
	Single group assignment	7 (5.2)
Allocation	Randomized	126 (94.0)
	Nonrandomized	8 (6.0)
Masking	Double-blind	105 (78.4)
	Single-blind	12 (9)
	Open label	15 (11.2)
	Unknown/missing	2 (1.5)
Number of arms	1	5 (3.7)
	2	96 (71.6)
	3	22 (16.4)
	4	8 (6)
	≥5	3 (2.2)
Placebo comparator	Yes	105 (78.4)
	No	29 (21.6)
Expected sample size	Median (25%,75%)	60 (39.5, 100)
	0 to 50	49 (36.6)
	51 to 100	51 (38.1)
	101 to 200	18 (13.4)
	201 to 500	12 (9)
	501 to 1000	3 (2.2)

Adults: age is 18~65, seniors: age > 65, and children: age < 18.