Abstract

Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of Korean ginseng(KG), Korean red ginseng(KRG) and fermented Korean red ginseng(FKRG) extracts on cerebral hemodynamics and to compare distinction of each extract. Methods Ten healthy male volunteers(26.0±1.8yrs) participated the study according to Double-blind and Cross-over procotol. Each volunteer was blinded and administrated with 500mg of KG, KRG, FKRG extract and Placebo(Dextrin). Also blinded researchers measured changes of hyperventilation-induced cerebrovascular reactivity(CVR), mean blood flow velocity(MBFV) of middle cerebral arteries(MCAs) and corrected blood flow velocity at PETCO2=40mmHg(CV40) using transcranial Doppler ultrasound(DWL Co., Germany). Researchers also observed changes of mean blood pressure(MBP), pulse rate (PR) and expiratory CO2 using S/5 Collector(Datex-Ohmeda Co., Finland). The evaluation was performed at basal condition, and repeated at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5hours after administration. Results MBFV and CV40 in KRG group tended to rise at 1 hour after administration, and those of FKRG group tended to rise at 2hours after administration. CVR increased significantly after 1 hour in KRG group(p=0.009), after 2 hour in FKRG group(p=0.035) respectively. KG group showed increasing tendency at 4 hours after administration. Each group showed no significant difference from the placebo in changes of MBP and PR. Conclusion It is suggested that KG, KRG and FKRG extracts have effects of enhancing CVR and thus of increasing cerebral blood flow in human subjects.