The Effect of Ginseng on Muscle Injury and Inflammation

The effect of Panax ginseng administration in muscle inflammatory process induced after eccentric exercise, that causes myofibrillar disruption, was studied. Changes in lipid peroxidation, inflammation, glycogen levels in muscle and release of myocellular proteins to blood were measured. The analyses were performed immediately after eccentric exercise and over week since this period are necessary for the muscle damage-repair cycle. The ginseng extract $(100\;mg\;kg^{-1})$ was orally administered to rats for three months, before the eccentric exercise performance. The results showed the protective role of ginseng against skeletal muscle damage. This effect could be associated with their membrane stabilising capacity since creatine kinase (CK) activity was significantly decreased 96 h post-exercise from $523{\pm}70\;to\;381{\pm}53$ and 120 h post-exercise from $443{\pm}85\;to\;327{\pm}75$ in treated animals. ${\beta}-glucuronidase$ activity, as indicator of inflammation, showed a significant reduction of about $15-25\%$ in soleus, vastus and triceps in these post-exercise times. The lipid peroxidation, measured by malondyaldehyde levels, was significantly decreased in the 24 h postexercise period in soleus and vastus intermedius muscles and on the recovery period. Finally ginseng administration reduced significantly the decrease of the glycogen levels immediately after exercise and when the regenerative process took place (72-168 h post exercise). Collectively, the results have showed that ginseng did not inhibit the vital inflammatory response process associated with the muscle damage-repair cycle but presumably ameliorate the injury.