Protective Effects of Black Ginseng Fermentation on Fatigue Stress-Induced Oxidative Damage and Comparison with White Ginseng, Red Ginseng and Ginseng Berry

To compare the alleviative effects of native and fermented white ginseng, red ginseng, black ginseng and ginseng berry on exercise-induced fatigue and oxidative damage in mice.

Male Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice were assigned to 10 groups of 12 animals each: blank control, positive control (powder in rhodiola capsule), and native and fermented white ginseng, red ginseng, black ginseng and ginseng berry (0.5 g/(kg m_b·d)). The animals in the experimental groups were administered for 30 straight days. Body mass and food intake were recorded. Serum urea nitrogen and serum and muscle lactic acid levels were measured, and the changes in blood glucose levels, the levels of glycogen in muscle and liver and the expression levels of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), total superoxide dismutase and malondialdehyde (MDA) in liver were analyzed. The correlation between anti-fatigue and antioxidant indexes was analyzed.

Body mass increased with administration time for all experimental groups. After 30 days of administration, no significant difference in body mass gain or food intake changes was found among all groups. Compared with the blank control group, the positive control group had a strong protective effect on oxidative damage induced by fatigue stress. Comparison with the positive group, intervention with fermented black ginseng significantly prolonged the exhaustive swimming time of mice (P < 0.01), reduced the levels of blood lactic acid, serum urea nitrogen and muscle lactic acid (P < 0.01), increased the levels of blood glucose, liver glycogen and muscle glycogen (P < 0.05) and the activity of GSH-Px (P < 0.01), and decreased the content of MDA in the liver (P < 0.01).

Fermented black ginseng reduces or eliminates oxidative damage induced by fatigue stress and protects against oxidative stress and exercise fatigue, and its anti-fatigue and antioxidant effects are more pronounced than those of the other ginseng products and powder in rhodiola capsule at the same dose.