For thousands of years, ginseng has been used in Chinese medicine to cure many ailments. It is believed that this plant can enhance physical and mental performance, increase energy and combat the harmful effects of stress and aging. Now, a review of 700 studies carried out by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya argues that, as a nutritional supplement, it could be useful for muscle recovery and reduce fatigue after physical exercise.
Borja Muñoz, one of the main authors of this work that has been published in the journal Nutrients, worked for a time in China as a physical rehabilitation worker in a football club and observed that ginseng was a widely used supplement among athletes in the country. It was then when he decided to focus his Final Degree Project (TFM) on this vegetable, which has resulted in this research. Patricia Martínez, nutritionist dietician and professor of Health Sciences Studies at the UOC, was the tutor of the study, which also had the support of the experts Rafael Bailón and Laura Esquius.
"We have proven that ginseng can play an important role as a nutritional supplement for recovery after exercise," Muñoz explained in a press release signed by the university. The physical trainer trusts that, in a balanced diet, it can be an extra for athletes or people who do physical exercise regularly, "and even more so taking into account that regular consumption has, in principle, no harm or zero benefit in healthy people, except in cases of medical contraindication.
The benefits of ginseng supplement consumption advocated in this review have been observed in healthy adults. This can considerably reduce muscle damage after exercise, in addition to improving muscle regeneration and contributing to recovery from damage and fatigue.
During sports practice, the muscles suffer damage due to the load and intensity of work to which it is subjected, mainly inflammatory. The compounds in this plant have active ingredients that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and that act as regulators of cortisol, the hormone that combats stress, which helps in multiple metabolic functions and contributes to the proper functioning of the immune system.
The authors of the research explain that the systematic and prolonged intake of ginseng supplements can attenuate the response of biological markers that cause muscle damage and inflammation induced by exercise. These are, mainly, creatine kinase (CK) and interleukin 6 (IL-6). Its intake also reduces the appearance of lactate in the blood, a compound that the body generates when the muscle lacks oxygen due to overexertion and which makes contraction difficult, the main cause of muscle fatigue.
The advantage of combating fatigue is that at the same time the risk of injuries can be reduced, the researchers point out, especially those produced in muscular or ligamentous structures.
"Although each injury in each situation and for each individual in particular has different recovery times, the physiological processes are common in the damaged structures. Therefore, professionals in this field must achieve the most efficient physiological context so that each person can recover in the best way and in the shortest time possible. This is where ginseng can play an important role in recovering from injuries," explains Muñoz.
The experts who signed the review consider that this may be a first step to study the benefits of ginseng in more depth and evaluate its usefulness as a sports supplement. It remains to discover, for example, when and how it should be consumed to optimize its benefits in a specific time.
