Ginseng as a Stress Reliever

The Panax Ginseng is a plant of East Asia and is used as a tonic in prophylaxis and during convalescence, to improve the body's resistance against environmental factors. It is also used to reduce the predisposition or susceptibility to diseases and to promote health and longevity. Ginseng is also adaptogen that can enhance the adaptability of the organization vis a vis external or internal disturbances, especially stress.

The active ingredients that is present in the Ginseng plant is ginsenosides (2% to 8% of the dried root of the plant). In rats that were stressed by restraint of one hour, the level of brain 5-hydroxytryptamine which is HTP-5 amounts correlated with plasma cortisol levels, treatment with ginseng did not lower the 5-hydroxytryptamine in patients that were not stressed, but inhibited the elevation of 5-hydroxytryptamine-related stress without affecting the rate of cortisol. In combination with a multivitamin complex. Taking 200 mg /day, ginseng extract G115 for 12 weeks in 338 subjects under stress, singnificantly improved their life quality index by 86% as compared to the only multivitamin supplementation available. Taking 200 mg/day of ginseng extract G115 for 12 weeks, 16 volunteers in good health had improved as compared to placebo test arithmetic. The levels of ACTH (corticotropic hormone), cortisol and DHEA sulfate (DHEA-S) were measured in 12 postmenopausal women with postmenopausal syndrome (fatigue, insomnia, anxiety) and 8 postmenopausal women not having the syndrome, before and 30 days after treatment with ginseng (6 g/j-root). This showed the effectiveness of Ginseng as anti-stress component.

Compared to women with postmenopausal syndrome, women who had scores of anxiety (Cornell Medical Index and State Trait Anxiety Inventory) had higher rate of S-DHEA. It was twice more and a low cortisol / DHEA-S high. Treatment with ginseng reduced the scores of anxiety in women with lowering the ratio cortisol / DHEA-S but it did not restore the rate of DHEA-S at a level equivalent to that of women not infected. The administration was particularly ginseng reducing the symptoms of fatigue, insomnia and depression in postmenopausal women.

The Commission E approved ginseng as a tonic for invigorating and fortification in times of fatigue, weakness, declining capacity for work and concentration and during convalescence. The monograph on "use demonstrated by clinical studies" of the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the use of ginseng as a prophylactic agent for restoration and improvement of mental and physical capacities in cases of weakness or exhaustion, fatigue and loss of concentration and during convalescence.

Still precise information about all the components that help the Stressed brain have not been found out. It is expected that by the end of this year, we would have enough information to understand the true contributing characteristics or components.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nootropic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_(biological)