Ginseng, a popular botanical dietary supplement, may help the body recover from physical exercise, improve exercise performance, and stave off injury, according to a review published in Nutrients by a team of researchers from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) in Barcelona.
 
“We’ve found that ginseng can play a significant role as a nutritional supplement when it comes to recovering after exercise,” said Borja Muñoz, a fitness coach and one of the study’s lead authors. Muñoz conducted the research under the supervision of his tutor Patricia Martínez, a dietitian, nutritionist, and course instructor at the UOC’s Faculty of Health Sciences, together with the experts Rafael Bailón and Laura Esquius, a researcher at the UOC’s Epi4Health Group.
 
To carry out the study, they systematically reviewed findings on ginseng supplementation related to exercise in healthy adults.
 
“When taken together with a balanced diet, ginseng can provide additional nutrition for athletes or anyone else who does physical exercise on a regular basis. It’s also worth noting that, unless it’s medically contraindicated in any given case, taking ginseng on a regular basis is considered beneficial, or at least not harmful, for healthy people,” said Muñoz.
 
Review Details
 
The review primarily looked at clinical studies which evaluated markers of post-exercise muscle damage in healthy adults, as well as recovery from muscle fatigue and damage. From a pool of over 700 studies, the authors selected 12 which met inclusion criteria, which was that they were randomized, double-blind, and either crossover, parallel, or counterbalanced design.
 
Taking ginseng systematically for a long time can mitigate the response of biological markers like creatine kinase (CK) and interleukin 6 (IL-6), which are involved in exercise-induced muscle damage and inflammation. It also reduces the appearance of lactate in the blood, which is produced when muscles have insufficient oxygen due to overexertion that hinders the muscle’s ability to contract. Systemically, active compounds in ginseng can stimulate the central nervous system, exhibit antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and regulate cortisol, benefitting overall metabolic function, the authors noted.
 
By reducing fatigue through structural modulations of muscles and ligaments, taking ginseng on a regular basis may also help to reduce the risk of injury, according to the authors.
 
“Although recovery times vary based on the nature of the injury and between individuals, the damaged structures share the same physiological processes,” said Muñoz. “That’s why professionals in this field must obtain the most efficient physiological context, to ensure that each person can recover as well and as quickly as possible.”
 
The authors of the study noted that the review could help inform future studies which seek out the best consumption protocol for ginseng as it relates to muscle function and athletic performance.  However, studies with greater clarity on methodology are still warranted.