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Panaxatriol - Ginseng Constituent Has Protein-Anabolic Effects When It's Administered After Resistance Training

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Warning: It's too early to stockpile ginseng or ginseng capsules, yet... the independent jury is still out there. Ginseng is not exactly the agent you will think about when you hear the word "natural anabolic". And in fact, previous studies using whole ginseng or extracts that were usually standardized for ginsenosides shown to help with dementia in athletes were not exactly encouraging. Against that background, I have to warn you right away (I will repeat my warning in the conclusion) that you should not rush to the next best supermarket or supplement store to get a bag of ginseng roots or pills. Why's that? Well, you cannot be sure that they contain enough of Panaxatriol, which is the active ginseng saponoid that worked the muscle building magic in the latest sponsored proof-of-concept study from Japan. A rodent study (another reason not to literally buy into the hype, yet), yes, albeit one with results I consider worth reporting... if nothing else, because...
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Science Round-Up Seconds - GABA & Exercise: Both Can Improve and Mess With Your Sleep. Plus: Natural GABA Alternatives and Sleep As An Overtraining-Gauge

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Don't forget that and prioritize proper sleep hygiene over pills and powders. Let me make get this straight, yesterday's episode (please note that at the minute I post this article, the download is not yet working, should go up within the next hour, though) of the Science Round-Up on Super Human Radio was not only ultra-long (120min+), it was also largely speculative. If you already listened to the show, you will know that Carl and I took up on a discussion Dan Rollins triggered on his, Carl's and my Facebook page(s). Contrary to what you would expects Dan felt that gamma-Aminobutyric acid aka GABA would not help him calm down and let him sleep. For him GABA turned out to have stimulative rather than sedative effects. I am not going to repeat all the potential explanations I went through in the first ~40min of the show here. Instead, I'd suggest you simply download the podcast and listen to the various hypothesis which range from (a) the general issue of wh...
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Fighting to Stay Lean? These 20+ Anti-Obesity Agents Have the Potential to Inhibit Fat Gain Right at the Cellular Level

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No, none of the 20 agents in the list below is going to do the work for you, but they could help you "conserve" the results, keep you lean on a bulk and/or avoid the hazardous Yoyo effect when you go off a die. It's actually normal that the introduction is the last part of an article I write. What's special about today's SuppVersity article is thus not that I write the introduction at the end, but that I did not really know what I would be writing here, when I set out to compile the unsorted (but not chaotic) list of potential anti-obesity agents below. All of them act by pathway(s) you as a SuppVersity reader will have read about before, most prominently AMPK , and the peroxisome proliferator receptors (PPARs), of which the blockade of the obesogenic PPAR-gamma pathway, which is the main working principle of CLA turned out to be the go-to explanation for the ability of these agents to block both the differentiation of adipocytes and the storage of tr...
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Energy Drinks Increase Resting Metabolic Rate, But Do Not Influence Energy Expenditure During Exercise

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Ever wondered, whether the drink that was once rumored to contain "taurine from bull sperm" and similar fashionable "energy drinks" are of any use? Well, a recent study ( Nienhuesser. 2011 ) coming from an international team of scientists showed that the consumption of each and every of the three energy drinks used in this study lead to a statistically significant increase in resting metabolic rate (RMR). [...] in a randomly assigned cross-over design, the subjects consumed 473 ml of one of three commercially available energy drinks or a placebo and then RMR and RER [respiratory exchange ratio; i.e. a measure of the relative amount of fat/carbs that is used as fuel] were measured 1 hour later.  The subjects then engaged in 15 minutes of treadmill exercise at 50% of V02max, during which RER and oxygen consumption (VO2) were measured. RMR was not changed by placebo, but increased (P<0.05, means ± se) above baseline by 10 ± 2.5%, 15.0 ± 2.9%, and 15.3 ± 2.9%...
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Ginkgo, Ginseng, Green Tea: Only one of the G's may be worth Supplementing

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In the most recent episode of their supplement review (which is usually very critical) the British Journal of Sports Medicine ( BJSM Review. Part 17 ) has a look at studies on the ergogenic potential of ginkgo , ginseng and green tea , all of which are heavily advertised for their beneficial effects on health, long jeopardy and mental, as well as physical performance. In the case of Ginkgo an Ginseng, the studies that have been considered in this review provide very inconclusive evidence for and against their use as ergogenics or medical plants. With regards to the underlying reasons for the discrepancies which have been reported, the reviewers argument that both, the origin, as well as the processing techniques may have influenced the efficiency of ginkgo and ginseng products. green tea , on the other hand, "shows some promise" - regular readers of this review series will know that this is already a great praise! Although evidence is limited, green tea extract, ...
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American Ginseng: Mediocre Effects on Markers of Oxidative Stress After Downhill Run

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In the West ginseng is by now almost more popular than in China, where it has been part of the traditional medicine for hundreds of years. In a recent study Hsu investigated the effect of 4 weeks American ginseng supplementation on oxidative stress following acute downhill running ( Hsu. Ginseng. 2010 ). The results are far from earth-shattering and might save you a few bucks you might have (mis-)invested in American ginseng, otherwise: No group differences were observed in plasma TNF-a, IL-1b, and IL-10 . However, 4-wk AG supplementation resulted in a significant increase in plasma IL-4. Furthermore, serum lipid peroxidative biomarker, 8-iso-PGF2a concentration of the AG group was significantly lower than that of the PL group at immediately, and 1, 2, and 72 hr after exercise. AG group showed a less muscle soreness than that of PL group at 72 hr after exercise. Eventually, these figures are pretty meaningless. While they might indicate that ginseng had an effect, we are way to ...
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