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American Ginseng From Five Different Sources Has Differential Effects On Postprandial Blood Glucose
Author(s) -
Jovanovski Elena,
Dascalu Anamaria,
Jenkins Alexandra,
Sievenpiper John L.,
Vuksan Vladimir
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.20.5.a1019-a
Subject(s) - ginseng , postprandial , american ginseng , medicine , diabetes mellitus , area under the curve , traditional medicine , zoology , biology , endocrinology , alternative medicine , pathology
We have previously demonstrated that, among 8 popular ginseng species, cultivated American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) is one of the most efficacious in lowering postprandial blood glucose. It is not known, however, whether any other batch of cultivated American ginseng would replicate this finding. The present study aimed to assess the glycemia lowering effect of American ginseng from five Ontario farms with varying growing conditions in a controlled multiple cross‐over intervention. 12 healthy individuals (5M:7F, age: 27± 2y, BMI: 24 ± 1 kg/m2) were tested on 6 separate occasions, after a 12h overnight fast. Each subject received 9g of American ginseng root from different farms, in random order, or a water control 40 min prior to a 75g oral glucose tolerance test. Venous blood samples were drawn prior to treatment intake and the 75 g glucose load and 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120 min after the glucose intake. Comparisons with control showed that ginseng from three farms significantly lowered blood glucose and area under the curve, farm A being the source of the most potent ginseng identified in this study. Overall, American ginseng reduces postprandial glycemia. However different batches do not consistently reproduce the identified glycemia lowering effect. Even among efficacious batches, differential glucose‐lowering amplitudes are observed. These variable biologic responses might be explained through compositional differences due to various growing conditions of ginseng. This calls for further identification of the active glycemia‐lowering components and subsequent ingredient‐based standardization of ginseng.