Whether American ginseng can improve cognition remains somewhat uncertain, although some promising results have emerged.
Research suggests that a single oral dose of 100 mg, 200 mg, or 400 mg of a standardized extract of American ginseng before cognitive testing may improve short-term working memory at all doses and reaction time at the lowest dose compared with a placebo.[1] Working memory was also improved in a second study involving older adults.[2]
A separate study including people with schizophrenia found that supplementation with HT1001 American ginseng standardized extract (100 mg daily) improved visual working memory when taken for 4 weeks. While other physical symptoms, such as abnormal gait (abnormal walking) or muscle rigidity, also showed improvement, no notable effects were observed on verbal working memory, verbal fluency, sustained attention, or immediate or delayed auditory memory.[3]
References
- ^Scholey A, Ossoukhova A, Owen L, Ibarra A, Pipingas A, He K, Roller M, Stough CEffects of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) on neurocognitive function: an acute, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study.Psychopharmacology (Berl).(2010-Oct)
- ^Ossoukhova A, Owen L, Savage K, Meyer M, Ibarra A, Roller M, Pipingas A, Wesnes K, Scholey AImproved working memory performance following administration of a single dose of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) to healthy middle-age adults.Hum Psychopharmacol.(2015-Mar)
- ^Smith I, Williamson EM, Putnam S, Farrimond J, Whalley BJEffects and mechanisms of ginseng and ginsenosides on cognition.Nutr Rev.(2014-May)