Effects of Panax notoginseng (Chinese ginseng) and acute exercise on postprandial glycemia in non-diabetic adults.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether Panax Notoginseng (PNG) taken for 3 days and one 30-min cycling exercise can reduce postprandial hyperglycemia after ingesting a 75-mg oral glucose solution (OGTT) in untrained non-diabetic men, age 20-45 years. We randomly assigned 52 men to: 1) ginseng (G) + exercise (G+Ex, n=14), 2) ginseng (G, n=13), 3) placebo (C) + exercise (C+Ex, n=12), and 4) placebo control groups (C, n=13). The G and C groups took a daily 3g dose of PNG and cornstarch-placebo supplement for 3 days, respectively. The exercise groups also performed a 30-min cycling exercise on day 3 prior to OGTT. The daily 3g-dose of PNG supplementation significantly lowered postprandial plasma glucose (PG) concentration at 30 min post-OGTT in the G group, compared with C (mean Δ±SE: G vs. C = 26.3±11 mg/dl, p<0.05) and PG area under the curve (PG-AUC0-90) in the G and G+Ex groups, relative to the C (G vs. C = 96.5±42 and G+Ex vs. C = 85.2±41 mg/dl, both p<0.05). We conclude that a daily 3g-dose of PNG taken for 3 days, not one acute bout of 30-min cycling exercise at 60% VO2max, lowered postprandial glycemia at 30-min post-OGTT and PG-AUC 0-90 min in non-diabetic men, age 20-45 years.

Panax notoginseng supplementation enhances physical performance during endurance exercise.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a single 1,350-mg dose of Panax notoginseng (PNG) could enhance aerobic capacity, endurance, and mean blood pressure (MAP) in young adults. We randomly assigned 29 untrained adults, aged 20-35 years, to an experimental (EXP, n = 13) or a control (CON, n = 16) group. For 30 days, the EXP took 1,350 mg per day of PNG capsule and the CON consumed 1,350 mg per day of starch capsule. Measurement variables were taken before and after 30 days of either PNG supplement or placebo. Results show that the EXP improved (p < 0.05) their endurance time by >7 minutes, and lowered (p < 0.05) maximal MAP (from 113 +/- 12 to 109 +/- 14 mm Hg) and Vo2 at the 24th minute (from 32.5 +/- 8 to 27.6 +/- 8 ml.kg-1.min-1) during endurance cycle exercise. Based on this study, we conclude that 1,350 mg per day PNG supplement for 30 days improved endurance time to exhaustion, and lowered MAP and Vo2 during endurance exercise.