The G115 standardized ginseng extract: an example for safety, efficacy, and quality of an herbal medicine

Ginseng products on the market show high variability in their composition and overall quality. This becomes a challenge for both consumers and health-care professionals who are in search of high-quality, reliable ginseng products that have a proven safety and efficacy profile. The botanical extract standardization is of crucial importance in this context as it determines the reproducibility of the quality of the product that is essential for the evaluation of effectiveness and safety. This review focuses on the well-characterized and standardized ginseng extract, G115, which represents an excellent example of an herbal drug preparation with constant safety and efficacy within the herbal medicinal products. Over the many decades, extensive preclinical and clinical research has been conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of G115. In vitro and in vivo studies of G115 have shown pharmacological effects on physical performance, cognitive function, metabolism, and the immune system. Furthermore, a significant number of G115 clinical studies, most of them double-blind placebo-controlled, have reinforced the findings of preclinical evidence and proved the efficacy of this extract on blood glucose and lipid regulation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, energy, physical performance, and immune and cognitive functions. Clinical trials and 50 years of presence on the market are proof of a good safety profile of G115.

Chemical structures of water-soluble polysaccharides from Rhizoma Panacis Japonici

Five polysaccharide samples, coded as RPS1, RPS2, RPS3, RPS4, and RPS5, were isolated stepwise from Rhizoma Panacis Japonici (RPJ) by using 0.15M NaCl aqueous solution at 25 degrees C, boiling water at 120 degrees C, 0.5M NaOH/0.01M NaBH(4) at 10 degrees C, 1.0M NaOH/0.02M NaBH(4) at 10 degrees C, and 19M HCOOH at 4 degrees C, respectively. The yields were 0.39%, 1.08%, 2.41%, 0.32%, and 0.04% for RPS1 to RPS5, respectively. The chemical structures of the polysaccharides were highly branched alpha-(1-->4)-D-glucan heteropolysaccharides and the values of degree of branch (DB) were in the range of 35-45% for RPS1 to RPS5. All of the polysaccharides were water soluble, and their solubility decreased from RPS1 to RPS5. The weight average molecular mass were 3.5 x 10(4), 1.47 x 10(5), 1.24 x 10(6), 9.26 x 10(5), and 1.36 x 10(6) for RPS1 to RPS5, respectively.

Effects of ginseng on secretory IgA, performance, and recovery from interval exercise

PURPOSE

This study examined the efficacy of ginseng to modulate secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA), exercise performance, and recovery from repeated bouts of strenuous physical exertion.

METHODS

Using a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized design, 38 active healthy adults supplemented their diets with a standardized ginseng concentrate (400 mg.d-1 of G115; equivalent to 2 g of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer root material) or placebo (lactose) for 8 wk. Before and after the intervention, each subject performed three consecutive 30-s Wingate tests interspersed with 3-min recovery periods under controlled laboratory conditions. SIgA secretion rate (S-SIgA) and the relation of SIgA to total protein were calculated from measures of saliva flow rate (SFR), and absolute SIgA and salivary protein concentrations in timed, whole unstimulated saliva samples collected before and after exercise testing. Peak and mean mechanical power output (W.kg-1) was measured with an infrared-beam optical-sensor array, and exercise recovery heart rate (HRR) was determined electrocardiographically.

RESULTS

Twenty-seven subjects (12 placebo, 15 ginseng) completed the study. Compared with rest, S-SIgA, SIgA:protein ratio, and SFR were lower after exercise at baseline (P < 0.05). Similarly, both peak and mean mechanical power output declined (P < 0.01) across consecutive Wingate tests. Postintervention minus preintervention change scores for salivary parameters, exercise performance, and HRR were similar between ginseng- and placebo-treated groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

These findings do not support the hypothesis that ginseng may affect mucosal immunity as indicated by changes in secretory IgA at rest and after an exercise induced state of homeostatic disturbance. Supplementation with ginseng fails to improve physical performance and heart rate recovery of individuals undergoing repeated bouts of exhausting exercise.