title: Antioxidant effects of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer in healthy subjects: a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.
abstract: We investigated the antioxidant effects of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer on healthy volunteers. In a double-blind randomized controlled design, 82 participants (21 men and 61 women) who were considered healthy by both objective and subjective health standard were divided into three groups, the control group and the groups received P. ginseng extract (1 or 2g/day) for 4 weeks. Serum level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), the activities of catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GSH-Rd), and peroxidase (GSH-Px), and total glutathione content were determined before and after the trial. Administration of P. ginseng led to significant decreases in the levels of serum ROS and MDA. Notably, the total glutathione content and GSH-Rd activity considerably improved in the groups that received 2g of P. ginseng. No significant alterations were observed in TAC, catalase, SOD, and GSH-Px activities. In conclusion, our findings indicate that P. ginseng was shown to have antioxidant property. It enhanced the antioxidant defense mechanism in healthy populations and the results may reinforce the use of P. ginseng as a potential antioxidant supplement.
authors.affiliation: Liver and Immunology Research Center, Daejeon Oriental Hospital of Oriental Medical Collage of Daejeon University, 22-5 Daehung-dong, Jung-gu, Daejeon 301-724, South Korea.
authors.forename: Hyeong-Geug
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sa-Ra
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Hye-Jung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Nam-Hun
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jang-Woo
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Rekha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sathyanath
authors.forename: Jung-Hyo
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Chang-Gue
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Son
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D005894:Panax / Q000737:chemistry*; D010919:Placebos; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D010919:Placebos; D010936:Plant Extracts