Benefits
Endurance time in cycling tests
In 29 untrained adults, 1,350 mg a day of notoginseng for 30 days lengthened cycling time to exhaustion by about 7 minutes, against about 3.6 minutes on a starch placebo; the published summary gives no between-group test. A pooled analysis funded by an ingredient company later grouped this trial with one study of purified Rg1, and that two-study notoginseng subgroup did not show a statistically clear effect.
Blood pressure and oxygen use during exercise
In the same 30-day endurance trial, peak mean blood pressure during cycling in the notoginseng group fell from 113 to 109 mm Hg, and oxygen use at the 24th minute fell from 32.5 to 27.6 ml/kg/min. These were changes within one group of 13 people, and the published summary does not report a direct comparison with the placebo group.
Blood sugar rise after a glucose drink
In 52 healthy, untrained men, 3 g a day of notoginseng for 3 days lowered blood glucose 30 minutes after a standard glucose drink, and the 90-minute glucose total, compared with a cornstarch placebo; a single 30-minute bike ride on its own had no effect. In a separate crossover of 12 healthy adults, a single 3 g dose of Sanchi was not among the ginsengs reported to change glucose.
Muscle soreness and damage after downhill running
In a double-blind trial of 20 well-trained men, a 4,000 mg notoginseng regimen taken before and after a downhill run did not convincingly change soreness, jump performance or blood markers of muscle damage compared with placebo. Two inflammation markers, IL-6 and TNF-alpha, were actually lower in the placebo group at 24 hours.
Ginsenoside Rg1, a main notoginseng saponin, and high-intensity cycling
In a crossover study of 12 untrained men, 5 mg of purified Rg1 taken the night before and an hour before exercise raised cycling time to exhaustion from about 32 to 38 minutes, while maximal oxygen uptake did not change. It tested one isolated compound, not the whole root, and was partly funded by NuLiv Science, the company behind Senactiv.
DNA protection in white blood cells under oxidative stress
In 6 healthy adults, a single 2,500 mg dose of notoginseng extract slightly reduced DNA damage (about 3% lower comet score) when their white blood cells, drawn two hours later, were exposed to hydrogen peroxide in the lab; a water-only trial showed no change. Six people, one dose and a test-tube challenge say little about health.
Mechanism of action
Saponins reshaped by gut bacteria
In a human study of an oral Sanqi extract, some saponins (such as Rb1, Rd, Rg1 and notoginsenoside R1) were absorbed intact, but colon bacteria stripped the sugars from many others, and the resulting oxidized protopanaxadiol and protopanaxatriol metabolites were the main circulating forms. Levels varied widely between people and built up over 3 weeks of daily use.
Effects on platelets and clotting
Notoginseng seems to act on clotting in more than one direction. Applied to cut rat tails, it shortened bleeding time, in line with its traditional use for bleeding. Yet in trials of heart and stroke patients already on aspirin, notoginseng saponin medicines further reduced platelet clumping. Whether the oral root changes clotting in healthy people is not established by these studies.
Rg1 and exercising muscle
In muscle biopsies from young men, 5 mg of purified Rg1 increased citrate synthase activity (an energy enzyme) and glycogen refilling after exercise, curbed a marker of lipid peroxidation (oxidative damage to fats) and reversed an exercise-induced shift toward inflammatory signals. These are short-term findings for one isolated saponin, not for the root as a supplement.
Clinical trials
Randomized, placebo-controlled parallel trial of Panax notoginseng capsules (1,350 mg/day) versus starch capsules for 30 days, with an endurance cycling test before and after (Liang et al. 2005, J Strength Cond Res)
29 untrained adults aged 20 to 35 (13 notoginseng, 16 placebo).
Endurance time rose by more than 7 minutes in the notoginseng group (about 30.5 to 37.6 minutes, as tabulated in a later review) versus about 3.6 minutes on placebo. Peak mean blood pressure during exercise (113 to 109 mm Hg) and oxygen use at the 24th minute (32.5 to 27.6 ml/kg/min) also fell in the notoginseng group. The abstract reports within-group changes and gives no between-group test; a later pooled analysis did not find a clear effect for notoginseng.
Randomized trial with four arms (notoginseng with or without a 30-minute bike ride, placebo with or without the ride); 3 g/day of notoginseng or cornstarch for 3 days before an oral glucose tolerance test (Liang et al. 2012, J Complement Integr Med)
52 untrained, non-diabetic men aged 20 to 45.
Notoginseng alone lowered plasma glucose at 30 minutes by about 26 mg/dl versus placebo, and both notoginseng arms lowered the 0 to 90 minute glucose area under the curve versus placebo (p < 0.05). The single bout of exercise did not lower post-glucose blood sugar. A short study in healthy men measuring one test response, not long-term blood sugar control.
Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of a 4,000 mg Panax notoginseng capsule regimen taken before and after a downhill treadmill run designed to cause muscle soreness, with tests over 5 days (Pumpa et al. 2013, Complement Ther Med)
20 well-trained men, matched by aerobic capacity.
The authors concluded notoginseng did not convincingly affect performance, muscle pain or blood markers. The placebo group had a drop in squat jump right after the run and more thigh pain at 96 hours, while IL-6 and TNF-alpha were lower in the placebo group at 24 hours; no other between-group differences were found.
Double-blind, randomized, multiple-crossover study giving 3 g of each of eight ginseng types (including Sanchi) or placebo 40 minutes before a 75 g glucose drink (Sievenpiper et al. 2004, J Am Coll Nutr)
12 healthy adults (6 men, 6 women), mean age 34.
Ginseng type affected blood sugar overall, but in different directions: American and Vietnamese ginseng tended to lower some glucose values, while Asian, American-wild and Siberian ginseng raised some. Sanchi was not among the types the abstract reports as differing from placebo. The ginsenoside profile explained only a small part of the differences.
Two-session supplementation study (2,500 mg of notoginseng, the contents of five commercial 500 mg capsules stirred into hot water, versus water alone) with blood drawn before and 2 hours after, and lymphocytes challenged with hydrogen peroxide in the lab (Szeto et al. 2014, J Intercult Ethnopharmacol)
6 healthy adults (3 men, 3 women).
After notoginseng, the comet score for hydrogen peroxide DNA damage fell by about 3% (p < 0.05); there was no change after water. The authors call the effect mild. No blinding is described; it was very small, used a single dose and measured a lab marker rather than a health outcome.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trials of 5 mg purified ginsenoside Rg1 (supplied by NuLiv Science and described as a major ginsenoside of Panax notoginseng), taken the night before and 1 hour before exercise, with muscle biopsies; partly funded by NuLiv Science (Hou et al. 2015, PLoS One)
Untrained healthy young men: 14 in a glycogen recovery trial and 12 in the endurance and muscle-marker trials.
Cycling time to exhaustion at 80% VO2max rose from 31.8 to 38.3 minutes (about 20%, p < 0.05) while VO2max did not change. Rg1 also increased citrate synthase activity and post-exercise glycogen refilling, and reversed exercise-induced changes in TNF-alpha and IL-10 in muscle; glycogen use during exercise did not differ significantly. No adverse events were reported. This is one isolated compound, not the notoginseng root.