Effects of Winter Savory (Satureja montana L.) on Peripheral Body Temperature of People Who Experience a ‘Feeling of Cold’ (Hie-Sho)

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of winter savory (Satureja montana L.) on the peripheral body temperature of people who experience a ‘feeling of cold’ (hie-sho). We conducted a clinical trial with a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, single-ingestion crossover design. First, under cold-water loading conditions, the ingestion of powdered winter savory extract (WSE) was found to accelerate the recovery rate of the medial middle-finger temperature. Next, under daily living conditions, the peripheral temperature of the wrist, medial and dorsal middle finger, and middle toe after WSE ingestion was found to be higher than that after the placebo ingestion. In addition, the blood flow and thermal sensation data agreed with the changes in the peripheral body temperature observed by WSE ingestion. This is the first report to demonstrate that WSE ingestion has a warming effect on the peripheral body temperature of people who experience a ‘feeling of cold’.