Background: Previous data indicate that purified components of ginseng can inhibit HIV reverse transcriptase in vitro, suggesting that ginseng components in plasma may interfere with HIV-1 RNA detection assays.
Methods: Pre- and post-dose plasma from three volunteers dosed with 3000 mg American ginseng was spiked with HIV and analyzed by the Roche COBAS Ampliprep/Taqman v2.0 HIV-1 RNA assay.
Results: Presence of American ginseng had no significant effect on measured HIV-1 RNA concentration. Variation within pre- and post-dose plasma pair was insignificant and within assay performance limits.
Conclusion: Plasma from subjects dosed with 3000 mg American ginseng does not interfere with the Roche COBAS Ampliprep/Taqman v2.0 HIV-1 RNA assay. This implies that in vitro inhibition of HIV reverse transcriptase by American ginseng components is unlikely to be clinically relevant.