"'Samultang,' Known as 'Good for Women,' Scientifically Proven to Aid Infertility Treatment"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The traditional herbal prescription 'Samultang,' used since ancient times for treating women's diseases, has been proven to have efficacy in preventing or treating infertility caused by aging or anticancer treatments.

The Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine announced on the 8th that Dr. Yoo Soo-sung's research team from the Department of Integrative Korean Medicine conducted animal experiments and published related papers in the international academic journals 'Scientific Reports' and 'Aging.'

Samultang is a prescription composed of four medicinal herbs: Rehmannia glutinosa, Angelica gigas, Ligusticum chuanxiong, and Paeonia lactiflora. It is a traditional herbal medicine used for infertility, irregular menstruation, menopausal disorders, toxemia during pregnancy, and postpartum symptoms.

Infertility has recently surged due to environmental pollution and increased marriage age. According to statistics from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the number of infertility patients was approximately 228,000 last year. Among them, about 130,000 patients underwent infertility treatments, which is more than ten times the number in 2017 (12,569 patients). Treatments for infertility mainly include ovulation induction, artificial insemination, and in vitro fertilization. However, with the recent increase in marriage age, ovarian reserve (the ability to produce healthy eggs) has decreased, making it difficult to ovulate and retrieve healthy eggs, resulting in lower treatment success rates.

The research team has been conducting studies to expand the use of effective Korean medicine treatments focusing on preventing infertility by suppressing the decline in ovarian reserve and improving the quality of ovulated eggs for infertility treatment. In particular, they conducted animal experiments to investigate how Samultang, which is used for various women's diseases including infertility, irregular menstruation, and postpartum symptoms, affects infertility caused by aging and anticancer drugs.

First, Samultang was orally administered for four weeks to aged (40-week-old) experimental mice, and its effects on the decline in ovarian reserve and the quality deterioration of ovulated eggs due to aging were evaluated. To assess ovarian reserve, the number of primordial follicles was counted. In the experimental group administered Samultang, the average number of primordial follicles per mouse was 14.3, more than twice that of the untreated control group (6.2), indicating suppression of the decline in ovarian reserve. The number of healthy mature eggs after ovulation induction was also higher in the experimental group, averaging 1.1 per mouse compared to 0.1 in the untreated control group, and the pregnancy success rate after mating increased significantly to 70% compared to 10% in the control group.

The research team also orally administered Samultang for four weeks to experimental mice with ovarian dysfunction induced by anticancer drugs and evaluated the effects on ovarian reserve decline and egg quality deterioration caused by chronic toxicity of the anticancer drugs four weeks later. As a result, the number of healthy mature eggs confirmed after ovulation induction in the Samultang-administered group averaged 6.8 per mouse, higher than 3.7 in the untreated control group.

To elucidate the mechanism of action of Samultang, the research team conducted transcriptome analysis to identify gene expression related to ovarian tissue. The results showed that aged mice administered Samultang exhibited gene expression related to the ovarian RAS signaling pathway, which regulates follicle growth, restored to levels similar to those of young mice. Experimental mice with infertility induced by anticancer drugs showed gene expression related to oocyte maturation restored close to that of normal mice after Samultang administration.

Dr. Yoo Soo-sung stated, “With factors such as increased marriage age, the importance of preventing infertility is growing,” and added, “Based on these research results, we are planning clinical trials to develop integrative Korean and Western medicine treatment technologies combining Samultang with in vitro fertilization procedures.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.