The Effects of a Korean Ginseng, GINST15, on Hypo-Pituitary-Adrenal and Oxidative Activity Induced by Intense Work Stress

Abstract

The effect of GINST15, an enzyme fermented ginseng supplement, on hormonal and inflammatory responses to physical stress in humans is unknown. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the constitutive and stress-induced effects of GINST15 supplement on hypo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and antioxidant activity in addition to muscle damage. Ten women (age: 38.7 ± 7.8 years; height: 163.81 ± 4.4 cm; body mass 76.0 ± 11.6 kg) and nine men (age: 41.2. ± 9.7 years; height: 177.4 ± 5.3 cm; body mass: 88.5 ± 5.0 kg) participated in a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, counterbalanced within-group study. Participants completed three 14-day treatment cycles with different doses (high: 960 mg; low: 160 mg; placebo: 0 mg) separated by a 1-week washout period. At the end of treatment, physical stress was imposed with intense resistance exercise work stress. Participants provided blood at rest and various time points after exercise (immediately [IP], 30 min [30], 60 min [60], 24 h [+24HR]). Cortisol (CORT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), total glutathione, nonspecific antioxidant activity, total antioxidant power (TAP), and creatine kinase were measured. GINST15 supplementation produced stress-inducible dose-dependent reductions in circulating cortisol and increased enzymatic and nonspecific antioxidant activity. Twenty-four hours after intense exercise, a high dose GINST15, a bioactive ginsenoside metabolite, significantly reduces muscle damage and HPA responses to physical stress in humans; these effects may result from increased antioxidant expression.

Work Intensity, Low‐Grade Inflammation, and Oxidative Status: A Comparison between Office and Slaughterhouse Workers

“…A combination of psychological and physical stress could induce chronic inflammation and subsequent disease [ 23 ]. For such reasons, a dietary regimen including antioxidants was suggested [ 24 , 25 ], but it is not clear if such a strategy is of much help [ 26 ], especially if the working conditions otherwise remain unchanged.…”

Ginsenoside Compound K: Insights into Recent Studies on Pharmacokinetics and Health-Promoting Activities

“…They found that, in response to severe exercise, CK supplementation resulted in dose-dependent declines in circulating cortisol and augmented antioxidant activity. This study first provided insights into the impact of ginseng treatment on the reactions to the stress associated with work [ 118 ]. A recent continued study by the same research group demonstrated direct evidence on task-related brain activity by evaluating CK’s treatment on behavioral performance and electroencephalography measures of cortical activity.…”

Constitutive and Stress-Induced Psychomotor Cortical Responses to Compound K Supplementation

“…During upper-body CRTs, dose-dependent increases in P3b latency after exercise could indicate that a higher dose of CK impaired processing times related to the allocation of attentional resources (Polich, 2007;Kumar et al, 2010). Nevertheless, given the sensitivity of P3b to autonomic inputs (Nieuwenhuis et al, 2005) and CK-induced reductions in circulating cortical after exercise (Flanagan et al, 2018), relative increases in P3b latency may reflect reductions in exercise-induced sympathetic activity (Kubota et al, 2001).…”

“…The participants, supplementation regimen, and experimental approach are fully detailed elsewhere (Flanagan et al, 2018). A general overview with considerations specific to this study is provided here.…”

“…As a potent physiological stressor, acute exercise increases arousal (Otieno et al, 2019) and modulates performance on various cognitive tests including the CRT (Arcelin et al, 1998;Chang et al, 2012;Fontes et al, 2015). We recently demonstrated dose-dependent reductions in perceived exertion and circulating cortisol in response to intense acute exercise after two weeks of CK supplementation (Flanagan et al, 2018). Despite providing preliminary evidence that CK might improve cognition by mitigating exercise-induced arousal, more direct evidence is needed.…”