 
  
 |
by Melvin Williams
Department of Exercise Science, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA
Originally Published by the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2006
This is the fourth in a series of six articles to discuss the major classes of dietary supplements (vitamins; minerals; amino acids; herbs or botanicals; metabolites, constituents/extracts, or combinations). The major focus is on efficacy of such dietary supplements to enhance exercise or sport performance.
Herbs: Ergogenic Theory
Plants provide us with most nutrients essential for life. Other than essential nutrients, plant foods contain naturally occurring substances, referred to respectively as phytochemicals. Herbals, which are derived from leaves, bark, berries, roots, gums, seeds, stems or flowers of plants, also contain numerous phytochemicals thought to have nutritive or medicinal value. Herbs have been used as medicine throughout history. Winslow and Kroll [1] reported the earliest evidence of human use of plants for healing dates back to the Neanderthal period, and today various modern medicines may be classified as herbals. Thus, herbals are regulated as medicine in some countries, such as Germany, but as dietary supplements in others. Currently in the United States most herbals are regulated by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), more like food ingredients than drugs. However, given the pharmacological effect of various herbals, some health professionals are emphasizing the need for regulations standardizing herbal therapy [2].
Herbals are popular dietary supplements. In the most recent NHANES report, approximately 7 percent of the U. S. population takes herbal or botanical dietary supplements [3]. Athletes also take herbal supplements. For example, Herbold and others [4] reported that 17 percent of female collegiate athletes used herbal/botanical supplements. Herbal dietary supplements are marketed to physically active individuals for a variety of reasons, including increasing energy, inducing weight loss, promoting muscle growth, or inducing other physiological or metabolic responses that may enhance exercise performance. For example, the product SportPharm contains multiple herbs, including Thermadrene, Ma Huang, Guarana, Caffeine, Purple Willow Bark, Cayenne pepper, and Ginger root, and is designed to increase mental alertness, stimulate fat-burning metabolism, and help enhance physical performance. Some sports drinks and sports bars contain herbals as well.
Research supports beneficial medicinal effects of specific herbs for specific health problems, as documented in Herbal Medicine: Expanded Commission E Monographs [5] and WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants [6]. Unfortunately, however, with a few exceptions research investigating the ergogenic effects of herbal supplements is limited. The following discussion highlights available research with selected herbal products; other plant-derived substances, such as caffeine and ephedrine, will be discussed in a forthcoming issue.
Herbal Supplements: Ergogenic Efficacy
Capsaicin
<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> <title>Above Article Ads</title> </head> <body> <body bgcolor="#E6EFF6"> <script src="http://tag.contextweb.com/TagPublish/getjs.aspx?action=VIEWAD&cwrun=200&cwadformat=120X600&cwpid=514880&cwwidth=120&cwheight=600&cwpnet=1&cwtagid=66369"></script> <!-- Badge ends --> </body> </html>
The Capsicum species (C. annuum; C. frutescens), native to tropical America, incorporates such peppers as the cayenne, red, and chili. The medicinal properties of the capsicum species are attributable to a compound known as capsaicin [7]. The United States Pharmacopeia has classified capsaicin as a stimulant, and based on their previous research Lim and others [8] have related its physiological action to caffeine, i.e., ingestion may induce sympathetic activation of the central nervous system, increasing catecholamine secretion and enhancing lipid oxidation, sparing the use of glycogen.
Some research supports this hypothesis. For example, when fed capsaicin (2 mg/kg), males at rest and exposed to immersion in cold water had a significant decrease in carbohydrate as an energy source [9]. However, limited research is available regarding the effect of capsaicin on carbohydrate metabolism during exercise. In a well-designed study, Lim and others [8] evaluated the effect of a breakfast meal containing 10 g of dried, hot red pepper on energy substrate use in male runners during rest and exercise (cycling at about 60 percent VO2max). For the red pepper trial, plasma epinephrine and norepinephrine concentrations were significantly elevated after 30 min, but not at 60 and 150 min of rest.
The hot pepper meal significantly elevated the respiratory quotient (RQ) and blood lactate levels at rest and during exercise, but there was no effect on oxygen consumption or energy expenditure during rest or exercise. These results suggest that contrary to the theory of glycogen sparing, hot red pepper ingestion stimulates carbohydrate oxidation at rest and during exercise. The authors suggested that hot red pepper ingestion before exercise could decrease endurance performance in athletes due to associated muscle and/or liver glycogen depletion. Currently, no scientific evidence is available to support an ergogenic effect of capsaicin supplementation. Additional research is merited.
Ginkgo biloba
The Chinese Ginkgo tree is the world's most ancient extant, originating two hundred million years ago, and is the source for Ginkgo biloba leaf extract. Ginkgo biloba is believed to exert its mode of action when its active ingredients, the flavonoids and terpenoids, work in concert [10]. One of the tissue level effects is stimulated release of endothelium-derived relaxing factor, which may enhance muscle tissue blood flow through improved microcirculation [11]. Such an effect could improve aerobic endurance by enhancing muscle tissue oxidation.
Most Ginkgo biloba supplementation research has been conducted in the elderly, primarily for its vasoregulatory and cognition-enhancing effects. A meta-analysis [12] and several subsequent studies [13,14] have shown that Ginkgo biloba improves exercise performance, as evaluated by walking distance, in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). However, although Ginkgo biloba supplementation may improve exercise endurance in patients with PAD, there is no evidence that similar effects occur in healthy young or older athletes.
Ginseng
Ginseng is one of the most popular herbal dietary supplements worldwide. Sales in the United States have been reported to be over $300 million annually[15]. Ginseng consists of several species belonging to the plant family Araliaceae. The two major forms are Chinese, Korean or Asian ginseng which belong to the genus Panax, and Siberian or Russian ginseng which belongs to the genus Eleutherococcus[16]. The biologically active constituents in Panax ginseng are a complex mixture of triterpene saponins known as ginsenosides. Siberian, or Russian, ginseng consists of the dried roots and rhizome of Eleutherococcus senticosis, and contains phenolics, polysaccharides, and eleutherosides. In China, Eleutherococcus senticosus is known as wujiaseng or Ciwujia, and the proposed active ingredients are ciwujianosides[17].
The ergogenic effect of ginseng is attributed to the ginsenosides, eleutherosides, and ciwujianosides. Ginseng is theorized to influence the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal cortex axis, possibly mitigating the catabolic effects of the stress hormone cortisol. Given these theorized anti-stress effects, one theory of ginseng supplementation is to enhance sports performance by allowing athletes to train more intensely or to induce an antifatiguing effect and increase stamina during competition. Other theories have been proposed to explain the potential ergogenic effect on aerobic endurance capacity, including favorable metabolic, hematologic, and cardiovascular functions. Given these postulates, much of the research involving the ergogenicity of ginseng supplementation has focused on cardiovascular or aerobic endurance performance, with some emphasis on psychomotor performance [18].
<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> <title>Above Article Ads</title> </head> <body> <!-- 2 This is the HTML section of the badge --> <script src="http://tag.contextweb.com/TagPublish/getjs.aspx?action=VIEWAD&cwrun=200&cwadformat=728X90&cwpid=514880&cwwidth=728&cwheight=90&cwpnet=1&cwtagid=54612"></script> <!-- Badge ends --> </body> </html>
This is an open access article. Click on blue icon for information concerning this license.
References
1. Winslow LC, Kroll DJ: Herbs as medicines. Archives of Internal Medicine 1998, 158:2192-2199.
2. Sengupta S, Toh S, Sellers L, et al.: Modulating angiogenesis: The yin and yang in ginseng. Circulation 2004, 110:1219-25.
3. Ervin R, Wright J, Reed-Gillette D: Prevalence of leading types of dietary supplements used in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–1994. Advance Data 2004, 9(349):1-7.
4. Herbold N, Visconti B, Frates S, Bandini L: Traditional and nontraditional supplement use by collegiate female varsity athletes. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism 2004, 14:586-93.
5. Blumenthal M, Goldberg A, Brinckmann J: Herbal Medicine. Newton, MA: Integrative Medicine Communications; 2000.
6. World Health Organization: WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants. Geneva: World Health Organization; 1999.
7. Tyler VE: The Honest Herbal: A Sensible Guide to the Use of Herbs and Related Remedies. New York: Pharmaceutical Products Press; 1993.
8. Lim K, et al.: Dietary red pepper ingestion increases carbohydrate oxidation at rest and during exercise in runners. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 1997, 29:355-361.
9. Glickman-Weiss EL, et al.: Does capsaicin affect physiologic and thermal responses of males during immersion in 22 degrees C? Aviation Space and Environmental Medicine 1998, 69:1095-1099.
10. Curtis-Prior P, et al.: Therapeutic value of Ginkgo biloba in reducing symptoms of decline in mental function. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology 1999, 51:535-541.
11. Cott J: NCDEU update: Natural product formulations available in Europe for psychotropic indications. Psychopharmacology Bulletin 1995, 31:745-51.
12. Schneider B: Ginkgo biloba extract in peripheral arterial diseases: Meta-analysis of controlled clinical studies. Arzneimittelforschung 1992, 42:428-436.
13. Blume J, et al.: Placebo-controlled double-blind study of the effectiveness of Ginkgo biloba special extract EGb 761 in trained patients with intermittent claudication. Vasa 1996, 25:265-274.
14. Peters H, Kieser M, Holscher U: Demonstration of the efficacy of ginkgo biloba special extract EGb 761 on intermittent claudication: A placebo-controlled, double-blind multicenter trial. Vasa 1998, 27:106-110.
15. Bahrke MS, Morgan WP: Evaluation of the ergogenic properties of ginseng: An update. Sports Medicine 2000, 29:113-133.
16. Vogler BK, Pittler MH, Ernst E: The efficacy of ginseng: A systematic review of randomized clinical trials. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 1999, 55:567-575.
17. Cheuvront SN, et al.: Effect of ENDUROX™ on metabolic responses to submaximal exercise. International Journal of Sport Nutrition 1999, 9:434-442.
18. Williams MH, Branch JD: Herbals as ergogenic aids. In Performance-Enhancing Substances in Sport and Exercise. Edited by: Bahrke M, Yesalis C. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 2002.
19. Bucci L: Selected herbals and human exercise performance. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2000, 72:624S-636S.
20. Bahrke MS, Morgan WP: Evaluation of the ergogenic properties of ginseng. Sports Medicine 1994, 18:229-248.
21. Liang C, Podolka T, Chuang W: Panax notoginseng supplementation enhances physical performance during endurance exercise. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 2005, 19:108-14.
22. Kim S, Park K, Chang M, Sung J: Effects of Panax ginseng extract on exercise-induced oxidative stress. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 2005, 45:178-82.
23. Allen JD, et al.: Ginseng supplementation does not enhance healthy young adults' peak aerobic exercise performance. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 1998, 17:462-6.
24. Dowling EA, et al.: Effect of Eleutherococcus senticosus on submaximal and maximal exercise performance. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 1996, 28:482-489.
25. Engels H, et al.: Effects of ginseng supplementation on supramaximal exercise performance and short-term recovery. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 2001, 15:290-295.
26. Engels H-J, Wirth JC: No ergogenic effects of ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer) during graded maximal aerobic exercise. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1997, 97:1110-1115.
27. Morris AC, et al.: No ergogenic effect of ginseng ingestion. International Journal of Sport Nutrition 1996, 6:263-271.
28. Goulet E, Dionne I: Assessment of the effects of Eleutherococcus Senticosus on endurance performance. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism 2005, 15:75-83.
29. Singh Y: Potential for interaction of kava and St. John's wort with drugs. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 2005, 100(1–2):108-13.
30. Williams MH: Alcohol, marijuana, and beta blockers. In Ergogenics: Enhancement of Performance in Exercise and Sport. Edited by: Lamb DR, Williams MH. Dubuque: WCB/Brown & Benchmark; 1991.
31. Anderson O: St John's wort: A nice mood-lifter for rueful runners? Running Research News 1998, 14(3):1, 7-10.
32. Pittler MH, Ernst E: Efficacy of kava extract for treating anxiety: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology 2000, 20:84-89.
33. Gaster B, Holroyd J: St John's wort for depression: A systematic review. Archives of Internal Medicine 2000, 160:152-156.
34. Linde K, Mulrow C, Berner M, Egger M: St. John's wort for depression. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2005, 18(2):CD000448.
35. Werneke U, Horn O, Taylor D: How effective is St John's wort? The evidence revisited. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 2004, 65:611-17.
36. Antonio J, et al.: The effects of Tribulus Terrestris on body composition and exercise performance in resistance-trained males. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism 2000, 10:208-215.
37. Wheeler KB, Garleb KA: Gamma oryzanol-plant sterol supplementation: Metabolic, endocrine, and physiologic effects. International Journal of Sport Nutrition 1991, 1:170-177.
38. Fry AC, et al.: The effects of gamma-oryzanol supplementation during resistance exercise training. International Journal of Sport Nutrition 1997, 7:318-329.
39. Neychev V, Mitev V: The aphrodisiac herb Tribulus terrestris does not influence the androgen production in young men. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 2005, 101(1–3):319-23.
40. Parcell A, Smith J, Schulthies S, et al.: Cordyceps Sinensis (CordyMax Cs-4) supplementation does not improve endurance exercise performance. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism 2004, 14:236-42.
41. De Bock K, Eijnde B, Ramaekers M: Hespel Acute Rhodiola rosea intake can improve endurance exercise performance. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism 2004, 14:298-307.
42. Colson S, Wyatt F, Johnston D, et al.: Cordyceps sinensis and Rhodiola rosea-based supplementation in male cyclists and its effect on muscle tissue oxygen saturation. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 2005, 19:358-63.
43. Earnest C, Morss G, Wyatt F, et al.: Effects of a commercial herbal-based formula on exercise performance in cyclists. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 2004, 36:504-09.
44. Willoughby D: Effects of an alleged myostatin-binding supplement and heavy resistance training on serum myostatin, muscle strength and mass, and body composition. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism 2004, 14:461-72.
45. Pittler M, Ernst E: Dietary supplements for body-weight reduction: A systematic review. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2004, 79:529-36.
46. Kundrat S: Herbs and athletes. Sports Science Exchange 2005, 18(1):1-6.
47. Consumers Union: Which alternative treatments work? Consumer Reports 2005, 70(8):39-43.
48. Ernst E: Risks of herbal medicinal products. Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety 2004, 13:767-71.
49. Pittler M, Schmidt K, Ernst E: Adverse effects of herbal food supplements for body weight reduction. Obesity Reviews 2005, 6:93-111.
50. Maughan R, King D, Lea T: Dietary supplements. Journal of Sports Sciences 2004, 22:95-103.
Previous: Amino Acids and Sports Performance
