Herbs have been used throughout history to enhance physical performance. The use of herbal medicinal products and supplements has increased during last decades. More and more athletes are looking for natural remedies to perform even better. At present, some herbs are used to enhance muscle strength and body mass.
We have looked at a couple of studies on herbs where the main herb was Ginseng. Ginseng is a root, with a light yellow color. There are many different variations- but the most common is korean, Chinese & american gensing.
The controlled studies of Asian ginsengs found improvements in exercise performance, it was especially used as an endurance performance enhancer. Improvements in muscular strength, maximal oxygen uptake, work capacity, heart rate & alertness have been repeatedly documented.
Another study found that a ginseng treatment improves the psychomotor performance at rest and during exercise in young athletes.
We need to remember that even though we have been using herbs for performance for hundreds of years scientific controlled clinical trials has only recently been used to study such effects. We also need more studies to conclude the precise benefits of ginseng.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29568244/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10919969/
https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijsnem/9/4/article-p371.xml?content=abstract
https://academic.oup.com/jaoac/article/101/3/701/5653986?login=false