COLUMBUS, Ohio--Ginseng extract (GE) improves glycemia in Type II diabetics by reducing free fatty acid (FFA) availability and improving insulin sensitivity (J Nutr, 136:337-42, 2006). These benefits may be attributable to the botanical's ability to inhibit lipolysis (the breakdown of fat stored in fat cells) within the body.
Researchers from Ohio State University and Abbott Laboratories isolated rat adipocytes (fat cells) by collagenase digestion and assessed the ability of GE to inhibit lipolysis by measuring glycerol and FFA release into the incubation medium. GE was found to inhibit lipolysis by 49 percent from baseline, possibly through a signaling pathway different from that of insulin. The researchers concluded the ability of GE to inhibit lipolysis may be mediated in part by the activation of PDE4 (phosphodiesterase 4, an enzyme involved in cell messaging) in rat adipocytes.
