the effect of zingiber officinale (ginger) on lactate dehydrogenase and fatigue index in obese women following eccentric and concentric exercise

This study investigated the effects of 4-week zingiber officinale (ginger) supplementation (1 g/day) on serum lactate dehydrogenase (ldh) dynamics and fatigue perception in obese women (bmi >30 kg/m²; n=50) following acute eccentric and concentric exercise. participants were stratified by vo₂max and allocated to: ginger+eccentric (g+e), ginger+concentric (g+c), placebo+eccentric (p+e), placebo+concentric (p+c), or control (no intervention). following supplementation, participants completed treadmill-based eccentric (-10% to -15% incline) or concentric (+10% to +15% incline) protocols to volitional exhaustion. fasted venous blood samples quantified serum ldh; fatigue was assessed via fatigue severity scale (fss). ancova with baseline adjustment revealed: significant ldh elevation post-exercise (η²=0.62, p<0.001), with eccentric > concentric (δ28.3±6.2 vs. δ18.5±5.9 u/l; p=0.008). ginger attenuated ldh vs. placebo (mean reduction: -21.8 u/l, 95% ci: -30.1 to -13.5; p<0.001, η²=0.42), particularly after eccentric exercise (g+e vs. p+e: -24.7 u/l, p=0.002). non-significant fss increase overall (η²=0.09, p=0.12), though ginger reduced fss elevation by 41% vs. placebo (δ8.7±3.9 vs. δ14.8±5.2; p=0.07), with strongest attenuation in g+e (-9.3 units; p=0.052). four-week ginger supplementation significantly mitigates exercise-induced ldh release in obese women, indicating cytoprotective effects against muscular stress. while fatigue modulation was statistically non-significant, clinically relevant attenuation trends suggest potential ergogenic benefits requiring further investigation.