Influenza Vaccine

Brand Names: Influenza vaccine

Clinical Names: Influenza vaccine

Summary

generic name: Influenza vaccine

type of drug: Vaccine.

used to treat: Intended to enhance immune resistance to influenza virus.

overview of interactions:
• herb affecting drug performance: Panax ginseng (Chinese Ginseng)




Interactions

herb affecting drug performance: Panax ginseng (Chinese Ginseng)

• herbal synergy: A multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study involving 227 people found that administration of Panax ginseng with the influenza vaccine induced a higher immune response against influenza. In contrast to the group that received placebo and the vaccine, those who took 100 mg of standardized ginseng extract daily for a period of 12 weeks, starting 4 weeks before the vaccination, experienced a lower frequency of influenza or common cold, increased antibody titres, and heightened natural killer (NK) activity levels.
(Scaglione F, et al. Drugs Exp Clin Res 1996;22(2):65-72.)


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Do not rely solely on the information in this article.

The information presented in Interactions is for informational and educational purposes only. It is based on scientific studies (human, animal, or in vitro), clinical experience, case reports, and/or traditional usage with sources as cited in each topic. The results reported may not necessarily occur in all individuals and different individuals with the same medical conditions with the same symptoms will often require differing treatments. For many of the conditions discussed, treatment with conventional medical therapies, including prescription drugs or over-the-counter medications, is also available. Consult your physician, an appropriately trained healthcare practitioner, and/or pharmacist for any health concern or medical problem before using any herbal products or nutritional supplements or before making any changes in prescribed medications and/or before attempting to independently treat a medical condition using supplements, herbs, remedies, or other forms of self-care.



References

Scaglione F, Cattaneo G, Alessandria M, Cogo R. Efficacy and safety of the standardised Ginseng extract G115 for potentiating vaccination against the influenza syndrome and protection against the common cold. Drugs Exp Clin Res 1996;22(2):65-72.
Abstract: The aim of the study was to determine the properties of a standardized extract of ginseng root in inducing a higher immune response in vaccination against influenza. Attention was also paid to the common cold in this multicentre, two-arm, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind investigation. A total of 227 volunteers who visited 3 private practices in Milan received daily oral capsule doses of either placebo (113) or 100 mg of standardized ginseng extract Ginsana G 115 (114) for a period of 12 weeks within which they received an anti-influenza polyvalent vaccination at week 4. As a result, while the frequency of influenza or common cold between weeks 4 and 12 was 42 cases in the placebo group, it was only 15 cases in the G115 group, the difference being statistically highly significant (p < 0.001). Whereas antibody titres by week 8 rose to an average of 171 units in the placebo group, they rose to an average of 272 units in the G115 group (p < 0.0001). Natural killer (NK) activity levels at weeks 8 and 12 were nearly twice as high in the G115 group as compared to the placebo group (p < 0.0001). In all the volunteers, laboratory values of 24 safety parameters showed no significant differences between the end and the beginning of the 12-week study in either of the groups. There were only 9 adverse events in the study, the principal one being insomnia.