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American Ginseng Berry Juice Intake Reduces Blood Glucose and Body Weight in ob/ob Mice.

Xie JT, Wang CZ, Ni M, Wu JA, Mehendale SR, Aung HH, Foo A, Yuan CS

Tang Center for Herbal Medicine Research, Committee on Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacogenomics, and Dept. of Anesthesia & Critical Care, The Pritzker School of Medicine, Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, U.S.A.

Diabetes is a serious chronic metabolic disease and has a significant impact on patients' lives and the health care system. We previously observed that the organic solvent extract of American ginseng berry possessed significant antidiabetic effects in obese diabetic ob/ob mice after intraperitoneal injection. If American ginseng berry is useful as a dietary supplement, simple preparation and oral intake would be a convenient, safe, and practical means for consumers. In this study, the simply prepared berry juice was first analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography, and then administered orally in the ob/ob mice. The animals received daily berry juice 0.6 mL/kg or vehicle for 10 consecutive days. The results indicated that oral juice administration significantly lowered fasting blood glucose levels, and this effect continued for at least 10 d after cessation of the treatment. Data from intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test demonstrated that there was a notable improvement in glucose tolerance in the juice treated group. In addition, the berry juice significantly reduced body weight. Our data suggest that ginseng berry juice, as a dietary supplement, may have functional efficacy in consumers with diabetes.

Published 12 November 2007 in J Food Sci, 72(8): S590-4.
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