American ginseng lowers blood sugar
American ginseng lowers blood sugar
Herb should be consumed before a meal
American ginseng has been shown to cause dramatic blood glucose reductions in patients with diabetes when consumed before a meal or with food.
A small study at the University of Toronto found patients with Type 2 diabetes could lower their blood glucose levels by 20% when they consumed fairly substantial (3 g) quantities either 40 minutes before a meal or during the meal. However, researchers admit that this is a large amount and probably not financially feasible for most patients.
Conversely, researchers warned that people who do not have diabetes are likely to experience drops in blood glucose levels if they consumed ginseng before a meal, but not if they take it with a meal.
Nineteen subjects were recruited for the study: 10 normoglycemic and nine with Type 2 diabetes. The patients with diabetes were significantly more overweight with body mass index scores of 29 vs. 25.6 for the nondiabetics. On four separate occasions, all were given gelatin capsules containing 3 g of American Ontario-grown ginseng at either 40 minutes prior to a 3,400 ml-25 g oral glucose challenge, or together with the glucose challenge, or a placebo containing corn flour.
Lead researcher Vladimir Vuksan, PhD, of the University of Toronto’s departments of nutritional sciences and metabolism and endocrinology, says this is the first clinical trial to demonstrate the effect of American ginseng on blood glucose in humans.
"It’s important for clinicians to be aware that patients may be taking this herb and to warn patients about the potential effects," he says.
While the study is probably too small to be considered significant for clinical practice on patients with diabetes, Vuksan says further research in the area may yield some important benefits for those with diabetes.
Yet Vuksan thinks the most important message may have come unintentionally from the control group in his study. "Since the ginseng did cause an unintended hypoglycemic reaction in patients without diabetes, it might be important to advise all patients to take ginseng with meals."
"This is an interesting study, but the research has to go much further before we can recommend taking it into clinical practice," says Daniel Mowery, PhD, director of American Phytotherapy Research Laboratories in Provo, UT.
In his book, Herbal Tonic Therapies (New Haven, CT: Keats Publishing Inc; 1993), Mowery wrote "Ginseng affects the body in a very positive manner. It appears to affect the immune control centers of the central nervous system directly and indirectly through the adrenocortical hormones, toning, increasing output, or simply restoring equilibrium.
"Blood parameters, including pressure, glucose levels, insulin levels, and white blood cell count are stabilized."
However promising the idea, Mowery thinks the 3 g daily dosage may not be practical in daily use because "ginseng is relatively rare and quite expensive." An informal survey of Web sites selling standardized American ginseng shows that dosage level would cost a consumer approximately $2 a day.
Because the use of herbal remedies has increased by 380% in the United States over the past seven years, says Vuksan, it is important for clinicians to be aware that their patients may be supplementing with some potent herbs which could have dramatic effects on their diabetic or other prescription medications.
Herbal remedies are particularly tricky, say experts, because they’ve been used for centuries with little or no scientific exploration behind their efficacy.
Ginseng is one of the most popular herbs in the United States today, and the herb is highly prized in Asian cultures. Of the several varieties of the herb, the most widely used are the extracted roots of American ginseng (panax quinquefolius) and Asian (panax) ginseng, with the active ingredient ginsenosides.
Ginseng stimulates the immune system and combats fatigue and stress by supporting the adrenal glands and the uptake of oxygen in exercising muscles.
The three varieties are similar but have some differing properties. They are commonly known as potent immune system stimulators. "When it comes to the effects of ginseng on the immune system, it has become customary to write in terms of the Russian-born adaptogen hypothesis which suggests the guiding principle is for ginseng to act as a tonic — to restore normality and increase resistance to any kind of change away from normal health," says Mowery. "That means ginseng can exert both hypotensive and hypertensive actions depending on the needs of the patient."
Vuksan chose American ginseng for his study because animal studies indicate it increases sex drive, memory and learning, slows the aging process, and possesses both digestion-regulating and liver-protecting abilities.
By contrast, English and Chinese in vitro and animal research shows Asian ginseng affects blood flow and has anti-stress, memory increasing, and anti-fatigue actions.
A variant, known as Siberian ginseng, is best known for its reputed abilities to enhance athletic performance, support the immune system, and prevent respiratory tract infections and flu. Russian Olympic athletes say it increases their endurance and vitality. Government authorities gave many people living in the region of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant Siberian ginseng to counteract the effects of radiation after the accident in 1984.
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