Herbs in exercise and sports

According to botanists, 'herb' is defined as a soft-stemmed plant which dies after flowering, whereas herbalists define an 'herb' as any part of a plant which can be used for medicine, cooking, cosmetics and as a scent or dye. In nature, there are many types of herbs that can be found and have been used traditionally for many purposes. Athletes are among those who use herbs for their own benefit. They believe that some herbs may help them to improve their performance, speed up recovery, maintain health and fitness during intense periods of training, increase muscle mass and reduce body fat. Ginseng, caffeine, ephedrine and recently Eurycoma longifolia Jack are among the popular herbs used to enhance exercise and sports performance. In this article, we review some of the studies of these herbs to investigate their effects on exercise and sports performance.'Ginseng' is a general name for the plant genus Panax. Some of the members of genus are Panax ginseng, Panax quinquefolius, Panax notoginseng and Panax japonicus. Among these plants, Panax ginseng, also known as Chinese or Korean ginseng, is the one which is most widely used [1]. Ginseng is available in various forms, such as whole root, root powder, teas and tinctures, as well as standardized root extracts containing known amounts of ginsenosides in every batch [2]. Ginseng roots contain approximately 13 glycosylated steroidal saponins (ginsenosides) which are the probable active agents [1,3,4]. Ginseng is thought to be a tonic that can improve vitality, health and longevity. Separation of ginsenosides and administration to animals has revealed activities which stimulate the central nervous system [2-6]. Other probable functions of ginseng include increased production of corticotropin and cortisol in animals and humans and anabolic actions in animals [2-4,7-9]. In addition, ginseng has been shown to possess antioxidant properties whereby it scavenges hydroxyl radical and inhibits lipid peroxidation [10]. Ginseng h