FEATURE ARTICLE
Athletics and Herbal Supplements
Do current products enhance athletes’ health and performance?
David Senchina
Herbal supplements have increased in popularity and sales, and among athletes are taken for their purported performance enhancement. Preclinical factors (such as species or plant part used, or harvesting and manufacturing method) and clinical factors introduce mounting variation that make it difficult to test supplements’ efficacy. David Senchina uses two of the most popular herbs, echinacea and ginseng, as cases in point, summarizing the most recent literature on the effects of these supplements in athletic contexts.
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