What is Panax Ginseng?
Panax ginseng, also known as Korean or Asian ginseng is a traditional herb that has been used to enhance physical and cognitive function. It is classed as an ‘adaptogen’ which refers to its ability to increase resistance to physical, chemical and biological stress and builds up general vitality [1].
The major active compounds within panax ginseng are ginsenosides. These are thought to have an affect on the central nervous system, immune function and the cardiovascular system with links to help with the synthesis of nitric oxide too.
What does 20% ginsenosides mean?
Our panax ginseng extract is standardised to contain 20% ginsenosides. Ginsenosides are nearly exclusively found in ginseng, they are phytochemicals and are thought to be the main active compound within panax ginseng.
They are known to counter stress, increase protein synthesis and the activity of neurotransmitters in the brain. It stimulates the formation of blood vessels and improves blood circulation in the brain, which may explain the benefits that come with panax ginseng [2].
What are the benefits?
- Improves cognitive performance
- Improves energy levels
- Enhance the production of nitric oxide
Improves cognitive performance
It is speculated that the ginsenosides in ginseng may inhibit stress responses by inducing nitric oxide (NO) production in the brain.
This may provide explanation where panax ginseng supplementation improved Corsi blocks performance which involves memory speed, choice reaction time accuracy, and immediate word recall accuracy [3]. It was also shown to improve speed of attention, which may be useful within certain sports where reaction time is important [4].
Following panax ginseng supplementation blood glucose levels dropped, Serial Sevens task performance was improved and subjective mental fatigue throughout the sustained mental activity was significantly reduced [5].
Improves energy levels
Panax ginseng may improve energy levels due to an increase in resistance to the stress of exercise, vasodilation, increased oxygen extraction by muscle and improved mitochondrial metabolism by muscles [6].
One study found that after taking ginseng for three months fatigue symptoms were improved along with quality of life [7].
Furthermore, running time to exhaustion was significantly increased, the exact mechanism behind this is still unclear but it may be down to the adaptogenic and anti stress properties or the idea of oxygen utilisation improving due to ginsenosides [8].
Enhances the production of nitric oxide
The active compound within panax ginseng of ginsenosides has been shown to contribute to NO production with several studies suggesting the antioxidant and protective aspects of ginseng linking to the enhanced synthesis of NO. This is in line with the idea of ginseng causing vasodilation and preventing manifestations of oxygen free radicals by promoting the release of NO [9].
References
[1]https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2003/1015/p1539.html
[2]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3659633/#B067
[3]https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00213-010-1964-y
[4]https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/full/10.5555/20053041826
[5]https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15982990/
[6]https://synapse.koreamed.org/upload/synapsedata/pdfdata/0063jkms/jkms-31-1879.pdf
[7]https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23301896/
[8]https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342792786_Effects_of_Acute_Supplementation_of_Panax_ginseng_on_Endurance_Performance_in_Healthy_Adult_Males_of_Kolkata_India
[9]https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006295297001937?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=8b6c5f9ffdd26382