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Ingestion of North American Ginseng Decreases Circulating Levels of Leptin and Insulin
Author(s) -
Migchels Megan Janina,
Iqbal Waseem,
Moreau Jason M,
Ciriello John
Publication year - 2011
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.25.1_supplement.853.8
Subject(s) - leptin , ingestion , insulin , ginseng , medicine , endocrinology , obesity , alternative medicine , pathology
Although ginseng has been used for centuries as a medicinal herb, little is known about the effects of North American ginseng (NAG) on cardiovascular disease and obesity. This study was done to investigate the effects of NAG on arterial pressure and metabolic markers in adult male Sprague‐Dawley rats on a standard chow diet. Animals were given 250 mg/kg of body weight dose of an alcoholic extract of NAG or vehicle (0.9% saline) daily for 4 weeks by oral gavage. Cumulative body weight gain over 4 weeks was significantly lower in the NAG treated animals compared to controls. Additionally, caloric intake was reduced in the NAG treated animals, while water intake did not change. Leptin, blood glucose and plasma insulin levels were also found to be lower in the NAG treated animals compared to control. On the other hand, mean arterial pressure (MAP) did not change within the NAG treated animals whereas MAP significantly increased in the controls during the course of the study. Taken together these data suggest that the use of NAG may be effective at reducing the risk of the metabolic syndrome in adult obesity. This work was supported by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, the Ginseng Innovation and Research Consortium, and the Ministry of Research & Innovation Ontario Research Fund‐Research Excellence.