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Browsing by Person "Chalmers, Ruth"

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    Does ginseng ingestion influence salivary testosterone and DHEA levels in females
    (2007) Al-Dujaili, Emad A. S.; Chalmers, Ruth; Sharp, M.
    Ginseng, a traditional herbal adaptogen, historically used in the Far East, has gained popularity in the West for its restorative properties. Ginsenosides, the active component of ginseng are known to exert a variety of actions by targeting 'multireceptor systems' both extracellular and intracellular. As a result many of its physiological effects remain unclear, particularly in humans. This study aims to investigate whether ginseng can influence salivary androgen levels (testosterone and DHEA) in females. Twenty-Four females were recruited for the study and divided into 2 groups (Group 1 aged 20-30 and Group 2 aged 38-50 years). The project has received ethical approval from QMUC ethical committee. Volunteers were asked to maintain a food diary for 48 hours pre and post ginseng consumption and collect 4 salivary samples (after wakening, 0900 hours, 1200 hours and 1700 hours) before and after ingesting 650 mg Korean Gensing per day for 7 days. Testosterone and DHEA were then assayed in all samples by ELISA methods. For the young group: Mean daily salivary testosterone pre-gensing ingestion was 111.266.1 pg/mL and post gensing was 133.680.2 pg/mL (related t-test P=0.091). Mean daily salivary DHEA pre-gensing ingestion was 1.9770.38 ng/mL and post gensing was 2.041.58 ng/mL (related t-test P=0.899). For the older group: Mean daily salivary testosterone pre-gensing ingestion was 56.114.8 pg/mL and post gensing was 65.111.1 pg/mL (related ttest P=0.032). Mean daily salivary DHEA pre-gensing ingestion was 1.020.665 ng/mL and post gensing was 1.721.11 ng/mL (related t-test P=0.034). In conclusion, it appears that ingestion of Korean gensing has significantly increased salivary testosterone and DHEA in the older women (aged 38-50 years old), but there was no significant difference in the level of either steroid in the younger group. These data suggest a role for gensing in modulating salivary androgen levels and that such effect might be more evident in women above the age of 40 years where the levels of androgens, and particularly DHEA start to decline.
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    Effects of ginseng ingestion on salivary testosterone and DHEA levels in healthy females: An exploratory study
    (MDPI, 2020-05-28) Al-Dujaili, Emad A. S.; Abu Hajleh, Maha N.; Chalmers, Ruth
    Ginseng is a traditional herbal adaptogen that has been historically used in China and the Far East. Ginsenosides are the active component of ginseng known to exert several actions by targeting “multi-receptor systems”, both extracellular and intracellular. In humans, ginseng effects remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether ginseng can influence salivary androgen levels (testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)) in females. The study followed a parallel partially controlled design. Healthy women (n = 24) were recruited and divided into two groups (A = 20−32 and B = 38−50 years). Volunteers were asked to maintain a food diary pre and post ginseng consumption and collected four salivary samples (7 a.m., 9 a.m., 12 p.m., and 5 p.m.) before and after ingesting 75 mg red Korean ginseng extract per day for seven days. Testosterone and DHEA were then assayed by ELISA methods. Group A’s mean daily salivary testosterone pre ginseng ingestion increased from 76.3 ± 16.6 to 98.4 ± 21.1 pg/mL post ginseng (p 0.01) with significant difference at all time points, and mean daily salivary DHEA increased from 1.53 ± 0.63 to 1.98 ± 0.89 ng/mL post ginseng (p = 0.02). Group B’s mean daily salivary testosterone pre ginseng ingestion was 61.2 ± 16.9 and post ginseng 68.1 ± 11.5 pg/mL (p = 0.132), and daily salivary DHEA increased from 0.91 ± 0.32 to 1.62 ± 0.49 ng/mL post ginseng (p = 0.014) with significant difference at all time points. In conclusion, it appears that ginseng intake significantly increased salivary testosterone levels in the younger women group, but only slightly in the older group. However, DHEA levels in the older women showed a marked and significant increase. These results suggest a potential role for ginseng in modulating salivary androgen levels and that such effect may be more evident in older women where the levels of androgens (DHEA) start to decline. However, it has to be stressed that our results are preliminary and further properly controlled trials are justified.