The new study used a water extract from American ginseng, obtained from field-grown American ginseng berry collected in Wausau, Wisconsin, and fed this to adult male C57BL/6J ob/ob mice for ten days (0.6 mL per kg body weight). This mice model is known to be hyperglycemic, glucose intolerant, and obese, thereby resembling human type-2 diabetes.
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"Data from this study demonstrated that oral administration of AGBJ significantly reduced high blood glucose levels and body weight in ob/ob mice," wrote Yuan and co-workers.
"Our results suggest that the hypoglycemic activity of the berry juice may prove to be beneficial in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes."
The researchers report that the active compounds in American ginseng are dammarane saponins, also known as ginsenosides, and that these compounds are also likely to be the active components in the berry juice.
Source: Journal of Food Science
"American Ginseng Berry Juice Intake Reduces Blood Glucose and Body Weight in ob/ob Mice"
Authors: J.T. Xie, C.Z. Wang, M. Ni, J.A. Wu, S.R.Mehendale, H.H. Aung, A. Foo, C.S. Yuan
