Herbal medicine for sports: a review

J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2018 Mar 15;15:14. doi: 10.1186/s12970-018-0218-y. eCollection 2018. . Sellami M1,2,3, Slimeni O4, Pokrywka A5, Kuvačić G1, D Hayes L5, Milic M1, Padulo J1,6. Author information 1 1Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Split, Teslina 6, 21000 Split, Croatia. 2 2Tunisian Research Laboratory, Sport Performance Optimization, National Center of Medicine and Science in Sports, Tunis, Tunisia. 3 3Laboratory of Biosurveillance of the Environment, Faculty of Sciences of Bizerte, University of Carthage, Zarzouna, Tunisia. 4 4Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zielona Gora, Zielona Gora, Poland. 5 5Active Ageing Research Group, Department of Medical and Sport Sciences, University of Cumbria, Bowerham Road, Lancaster, UK. 6 6University eCampus, Novedrate, Italy. Abstract The use of herbal medicinal products and supplements has increased during last decades. At present, some herbs are used to enhance muscle strength and body mass. Emergent evidence suggests that the health benefits from plants are attributed to their bioactive compounds such as Polyphenols, Terpenoids, and Alkaloids which have several physiological effects on the human body. At times, manufacturers launch numerous products with banned ingredient inside with inappropriate amounts or fake supplement inducing harmful side effect. Unfortunately up to date, there is no guarantee that herbal supplements are safe for anyone to use and it has not helped to clear the confusion surrounding the herbal use in sport field especially. Hence, the purpose of this review is to provide guidance on the efficacy and side effect of most used plants in sport. We have identified plants according to the following categories: Ginseng, alkaloids, and other purported herbal ergogenics such as Tribulus Terrestris, Cordyceps Sinensis. We found that most herbal supplement effects are likely due to activation of the central nervous system via stimulation of catecholamines. Ginseng was used as an endurance performance enhancer, while alkaloids supplementation resulted in improvements in sprint and cycling intense exercises. Despite it is prohibited, small amount of ephedrine was usually used in combination with caffeine to enhance muscle strength in trained individuals. Some other alkaloids such as green tea extracts have been used to improve body mass and composition in athletes. Other herb (i.e. Rhodiola, Astragalus) help relieve muscle and joint pain, but results about their effects on exercise performance are missing. KEYWORDS: Alkaloids; Ergogenic aid; Medicinal plant; Physical activity; Polyphenol PMID: 29568244 PMCID: PMC5856322 DOI: 10.1186/s12970-018-0218-y [Indexed for MEDLINE] Free PMC Article