• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.580-588
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• 2019

Background: Ginsenoside Rg1 has been shown to clear senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (SA-${\beta}$-gal) in cultured cells. It remains unknown whether Rg1 can influence SA-${\beta}$-gal in exercising human skeletal muscle. Methods: To examine SA-${\beta}$-gal change, 12 young men (age $21{\pm}0.2years$) were enrolled in a randomized double-blind placebo controlled crossover study, under two occasions: placebo (PLA) and Rg1 (5 mg) supplementations 1 h prior to a high-intensity cycling (70% $VO_{2max}$). Muscle samples were collected by multiple biopsies before and after cycling exercise (0 h and 3 h). To avoid potential effect of muscle biopsy on performance assessment, cycling time to exhaustion test (80% $VO_{2max}$) was conducted on another 12 participants (age $23{\pm}0.5years$) with the same experimental design. Results: No changes of SA-${\beta}$-gal were observed after cycling in the PLA trial. On the contrary, nine of the 12 participants showed complete elimination of SA-${\beta}$-gal in exercised muscle after cycling in the Rg1 trial (p < 0.05). Increases in apoptotic DNA fragmentation (PLA: +87% vs. Rg1: +133%, p < 0.05) and $CD68^+$ (PLA:+78% vs. Rg1:+121%, p = 0.17) occurred immediately after cycling in both trials. During the 3-h recovery, reverses in apoptotic nuclei content (PLA:+5% vs. Rg1 -32%, p < 0.01) and increases in inducible nitrate oxide synthase and interleukin 6 mRNA levels of exercised muscle were observed only in the Rg1 trial (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Rg1 supplementation effectively eliminates senescent cells in exercising human skeletal muscle and improves high-intensity endurance performance.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.93-101
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• 2007

The purpose of this study is to examine the improvement of endurance exercise performance by taking mixtures of Ginseng Radix rubra and Paeonia Radix. For this purpose, time of exhaustion, $V0_2max$, heart rate, and blood lactate was used as improvement index. The experiments were executed to thirty eight men in their twenties. They were randomly assigned into four groups[CG: control group(n=10), IG: ingestion mixtures group(n=9), TPG: ingestion placebo+training group(n=9), TIG: ingestion mixtures+training group(n=10)]. IG and TIG took mixtures of Ginseng Radix rubra and Paeonia Radix for four weeks, and TPG and TIG exercised once a day, three times a week, exercised for 25 minutes during the first week and added 2 minutes by week during four weeks up to 75% of their maximum heart rate. Time of exhaustion showed statistically significant increase for IG, TPG and TIG. TIG had the longest time of exhaustion and IG the shortest. In case of $VO_2max$, no statistically significant change was found among four groups. However, IG, TPG, TIG showed small increase in $VO_2max$. Similarly, no significant change was found for heart rate in rest even though TIG and TPG appear to have decreasing trend. For maximum heart rate, no significant change was found either, but IG, TPG and TIG showed increase. In case of blood lactate from rest to exercise until 18 minutes, no group had significant decrease. In case of blood lactate in exhaustion, IG, TPG and TIG had significant increase. Blood lactate recovery volume at 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes showed no significant results for all four groups, but TIG and TPG had a small increase.