Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medical Science, Naresuan University, Muang, Thailand.
J Sports Sci. 2010 Sep;28(11):1243-50. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2010.506221.
Thai ginseng, Kaempferia parviflora, is widely believed among the Mong hill tribe to reduce perceived effort and improve physical work capacity. Kaempferia parviflora is consumed before their daily work. Therefore, we conducted an acute study on the effects of K. parviflora on repeated bouts of sprint exercise and on endurance exercise time to exhaustion. Two studies were conducted in college males using a randomized, double-blind, crossover design. Ninety minutes after consumption of K. parviflora or a starch placebo, participants in study 1 (n = 19) completed three consecutive maximum 30-s sprint cycling Wingate tests, separated by 3 min recovery, while participants in study 2 (n = 16) performed submaximal cycling exercise to exhaustion. Peak and mean power output decreased with successive Wingate tests, while percent fatigue and blood lactate concentration increased after the third Wingate test (P < 0.05). There were no detectable differences in any measures with or without K. parviflora. There was also no effect of K. parviflora on time to exhaustion, rating of perceived exertion or heart rate during submaximal exercise. Our results indicate that acute ingestion of K. parviflora failed to improve exercise performance during repeated sprint exercise or submaximal exercise to exhaustion. However, chronic effects or actions in other populations cannot be excluded.
泰国人参，又称 Kaempferia parviflora，被蒙古山区部落广泛认为可减少体力消耗并提高体力工作能力。他们在日常工作前会食用 Kaempferia parviflora。因此，我们进行了一项急性研究，以评估 Kaempferia parviflora 对反复冲刺运动和耐力运动至力竭时间的影响。两项研究均在大学生男性中采用随机、双盲、交叉设计进行。在食用 Kaempferia parviflora 或淀粉安慰剂 90 分钟后，研究 1（n=19）的参与者完成了三次连续的 30 秒最大冲刺自行车瓦格纳测试，每次测试之间有 3 分钟的恢复期，而研究 2（n=16）的参与者进行了亚最大自行车运动至力竭。随着连续的瓦格纳测试，峰值和平均功率输出下降，而第三次瓦格纳测试后疲劳百分比和血乳酸浓度增加（P<0.05）。无论是否服用 Kaempferia parviflora，任何指标都没有可检测到的差异。Kaempferia parviflora 对亚最大运动至力竭的时间、感知用力评级或心率也没有影响。我们的结果表明，急性摄入 Kaempferia parviflora 未能改善反复冲刺运动或亚最大运动至力竭的运动表现。然而，不能排除慢性作用或在其他人群中的作用。
