The Effects of Wild Ginseng Extract on Psychomotor and Neuromuscular Performance Recovery Following Acute Eccentric Exercise: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

To examine the efficacy of wild ginseng extract (WGE) on psychomotor and neuromuscular performance recovery following acute eccentric exercise. This study was a double-blind, crossover, and placebo-controlled design with a 14-day washout period. Ten male adults, aged 27.1 ± 4.33 years old, voluntarily participated in the study. Subjects were assigned to one of two parallel conditions (WGE or placebo) in a counterbalanced manner. Subjects consumed two packs of WGE (350 mg/package) or placebo drink immediately after acute eccentric exercise and the following four days. The eccentric exercise consisted of 20 min of downhill running at 60% of VO2peak and five sets (of 20) of drop jump exercise. Computer-based cognitive function test and neuromuscular performance tests, including straight leg raise, vertical jump, isometric leg strength, and anaerobic power test were administered four times, at baseline, 2 h, 48 h, and 96 h after acute exercise. The interleukin-6 (IL-6), myoglobin, cortisol, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and perceived muscle soreness were also assessed at each time point. A significance level was set at 0.05. No significant differences between the WGE and the placebo groups were observed in psychomotor and neuromuscular performance variables. Blood markers, including IL-6 (p = 0.013), myoglobin (p < 0.001), and cortisol level (p = 0.047) were changed significantly across the time. A post-hoc test revealed that a significant increase in IL-6 was observed only in the placebo group (p = 0.014), while no significant changes found in the WGE condition. The perceived muscle soreness was not different between the WGE and the placebo conditions. The administration of WGE immediately after acute eccentric exercise and the following four days have no benefits on psychomotor and neuromuscular performance recovery in healthy adults. However, the acute WGE supplementation may attenuate the eccentric exercise-induced inflammatory process, such as IL-6, but future study with a large sample size is required to clarify the anti-inflammation process in response to acute eccentric exercise.