The Effect of Ginkgo biloba and Panax ginseng on Driving Ability: A Pilot Study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Greenberg MI ; Lasala GS ; Mckeever RG ; Vearrier D
• Description:
  Background: Driving under the influence of xenobiotics is an important national safety issue. Panax ginseng and Gingko biloba are commonly used supplements in the United States whose use has been reported to increase alertness and cognitive function. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of these specific herbals on driving ability. Methods: Twelve volunteers were tested using the STISIM3 (R) Driving Simulator (Systems Technology Inc., Hawthorne, CA) in this double-blind, placebo-controlled study. The subjects were randomized into 3 groups of 4 subjects per group. After 10-minutes of simulated driving, subjects received either ginseng (1200 mg), gingko (240 mg), or placebo administered orally. The test herbals and placebo were randomized and administered by a research assistant outside of the study to maintain blinding. One hour following administration of the blinded herbals or placebo, the subjects completed an additional 10-minutes of simulated driving. Standard driving parameters were studied including reaction time (RT), standard deviation of lateral positioning (SDLP), and divided attention (DA). Data collected for the DA parameter included time to response and number of correct responses. The data was analyzed with repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SPSS 20 (IBM, Armonk, NY). Results: The results are shown in Table 1. Improvement in RT was demonstrated in the ginseng group however, the results were not statistically significant (p 0.251). There was no improvement in SDLP within the three groups. Improvement was demonstrated in DA in all three groups with regard to time to response and number of correct responses. The ginseng group demonstrated the greatest improvement with regard to time to response and number of correct responses. However, the inter-group differences were not statistically significant (p 0.197 and p 0.059 respectively). Conclusion: The data suggests that ginseng and ginkgo may improve certain parameters of driving ability without negatively impacting overall driving performance. However, the results reported herein do not rise to statistical significance. We postulate this is due to the relatively small numbers in our pilot study. Further study with a larger sample size is planned in order to elucidate more fully the effects of ginkgo and ginseng on driving ability. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Automobiles Nervous System Occupational Health Public Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Herbals Cognitive Function Drivers Driving Public Health Reaction Rates Safety Research Xenobiotics
• ISSN:
  1556-3650
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  52
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20053484
• Citation:
  Clin Toxicol 2014 Aug; 52(7):688
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Clinical Toxicology
• End Date:
  20290630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d6dda8d920eba0948f8c241c2d05ea17f430d875d10ec6f366c426155532e9c0ff93bae971db66172ad9a13ed4faabe7a0ae229ad699a313413274cecf6f5fce
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/216228/cdc_216228_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 111.60 KB ]