Product Description:
GINSENG
Uses:
Chinese Ginseng
Energy Boost
Natural Herb
Anti-depressent.
Ginseng is the dried root of one of several species of the Araliaceae family of herbs, most commonly
Asian Panax ginseng), often sold as Panax, Chinese, or Korean
ginseng. Closely related to Asian ginseng is American Panax quinquefolius L., which is
sometimes preferred for its milder effects. Siberian Eleutherococcus
senticosus Rupr ex Maxim, isn't as closely related to the other two and contains a series of unrelated
compounds. Eleuthero is also considered weaker in action and is a less expensive ingredient. Ginseng-containing
foods and dietary supplements are typically made from a powder or extract of ginseng root.
GINSENG Uses
Ginseng is widely used to improve overall energy and vitality, particularly during times
of fatigue or stress and there is potential value in normalizing glucose levels after meals in diabetics, stimulating
immune function, treating male impotence and, when used with Ginkgo biloba, improving memory
and symptoms of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.
Pesticide and heavy-metal contamination are safety concerns in some botanical products. The pesticides
pentachloronitrobenzene (known as quintozene or PCNB), and hexachlorobenzene have been
banned from most food-crop use throughout the world but both quintozene and hexachlorobenzene
have been found in the past in some samples of ginseng.
Ginseng has long been recognized as an herb
possessing great value and can be found in a Chinese Herbal
dated in the 1st Century B.C (Shen-nung pen ts'ao ching), and was preceded by a
long verbal history of ginseng as a
powerful drug.
Early emperors proclaimed ginseng
roots as having many uses, primarily as a tonic or
stimulant for both physical and mental disorders, for increasing fertility and
sexuality, and most importantly for strengthening the
body.
Ginseng is the common name of two species of Panax
of the family Araliaceae. Panax ginseng is the
Asian species and Panax quinquefolius is the
American species.
Ginseng's flowers are pink and its fruit, a small berry,
is red. The leaves are compound, digitate, oval and
thin. There are a total of five leaflets, the three
terminal leaflets are larger than the two lateral one. Some say the leaf resembles the human hand and given
the common name five fingers.
Ginseng's roots are 5-6 cm long, grayish white to
amber yellow. The surface is wrinkled and furrowed.
Despite increased research on ginseng that
tends to support its alleged medicinal value,
consumption has remained concentrated largely in
the Far East.
In the United States, ginseng has been sold
without medical prescriptions in the forms of
liquid extracts, capsules, chewing gum, teas,
candy and even cigarettes.
The word ginseng is said to mean 'the wonder of the world.'
---Description---The plant grows in rich woods throughout eastern and central
North America, especially along the mountains from Quebec and Ontario, south to Georgia. It was used by the
North American Indians. It is a smooth perennial herb, with a large, fleshy, very slow-growing root, 2 to 3 inches in
length (occasionally twice this size) and from 1/2 to 1 inch in thickness. Its main portion is spindle-shaped and
heavily annulated (ringed growth), with a roundish summit, often with a slight terminal, projecting point. At the
lower end of this straight portion, there is a narrower continuation, turned obliquely outward in the opposite direction
and a very small branch is occasionally borne in the fork between the two. Some small rootlets exist upon the lower
portion. The colour ranges from a pale yellow to a brownish colour. It has a mucilaginous sweetness, approaching
that of liquorice, accompanied with some degree of bitterness and a slight aromatic warmth, with little or no smell.
The stem is simple and erect, about a foot high, bearing three leaves, each divided into five finely-toothed leaflets,
and a single, terminal umbel, with a few small, yellowish flowers. The fruit is a cluster of bright red berrles.
Chinese Ginseng is a larger plant, but presents practically the same appearance and habits of growth. Its
culture in the United States has never been attempted, though it would appear to be a promising field for experiment.
The structure of the root is fleshy and somewhat elastic and flexible, and it is of a firm, solid consistence if
collected at the proper time and properly cured. The bark is very thick, yellowish-white, radially striate in old roots
and contains brownishred resin cells. The wood is strongly and coarsely radiate, with yellowish wood wedges and
whitish rays.
In China, both varieties are used particularly for dyspepsia, vomiting and nervous disorders. A decoction of
1/2 oz. of the root, boiled in tea or soup and taken every morning, is commonly held a remedy for consumption and
other diseases.
In Western medicine, it is considered a mild stomachic tonic and stimulant, useful in loss of appetite and in
digestive affections that arise from mental and nervous exhaustion.
Typical dose: 500mg.
