American Ginseng

GINSENG (ASIAN AND AMERICAN)

Plant Source: Panax ginseng C.A. Mey. (Asian) and Panax quinquefolius L. (American) [Family Araliaceae].

Part Used: Dried root, raw or processed.

Properties:

Asian Ginseng - Warming, general tonic, stimulant, anti-stress, radioprotective, immunoregulating, sedative, hypotensive, hypoglycemic.

American Ginseng - Cooling, thirst-quenching, febrifuge, tonic.

Most Common Traditional Uses:

Asian Ginseng - General weakness, tiredness, mental and physical exhaustion (especially after a long illness), cold limbs, weak heart, insomnia, lack of appetite, impotence, rheumatism, etc.

American Ginseng - Fever, summer heat (e.g. sunstroke), thirst, etc.

Ginseng needs no introduction; few have not heard of it. It is in fact the most well-known Chinese herb in the world. Although it has many properties and uses, decades of scientific research and thousands of publications have not proven it one way or the other. Is it what it is alleged to be? We may never know. And science may never determine what it sets out to ascertain. A couple of well-known facts: ginseng has been highly valued and used by billions of Chinese over at least two thousand years; and the Chinese are not a stupid people.

A distinction should be made between Asian and American ginseng. Asian ginseng is warming and is good for people who have recovered from a serious illness and need to regain their strength; it is used as a general tonic to strengthen the body's resistance. Asian ginseng should not be used by people with excessive yang, including a ruddy complexion, an energetic constitution, and high blood pressure. On the other hand, American ginseng has cooling properties and is normally used to cool down fevers or summer heat. It is good for people with deficient yin or excessive yang.

If you are prone to cold hands and feet, lack of energy, or generally not quite up to snuff, you should take Asian ginseng. But if you are usually the hyperactive type, often hot, and full-of-it, you should not take Asian ginseng but rather, American ginseng. American ginseng root and Asian ginseng leaf are also used to treat hangovers.

The active components of ginseng (both Asian and American) are numerous, including ginseng saponins (ginsenosides and panaxosides) and polysaccharides. Together they are responsible for the total effects of ginseng. You may have heard about "standardized" ginseng products. This means that these products contain a measurable amount of ginsenosides, usually only one or two of several dozen of such compounds. It has been assumed by some scientists that ginsenosides are the only active principles in ginseng and since these chemicals can be measured, we can at least be sure that these products contain some active components, rather than inert diluents like starch and sugar. Nevertheless, unless these products contain ginsenosides from a total extract of ginseng (highly unlikely in ginseng extracts containing unusually high amounts of ginsenosides), chances are the other active principles are not there. Hence, the best way to take ginseng is to buy the root from Chinatown herb shops and brew the tea yourself, because prepared ginseng products often don't tell you which ginseng they contain. Sometimes they may bear the specific plant name on the label but the other ginseng plant may actually be the one used, as some manufacturers themselves don't know the difference between the two. To make ginseng tea, simply steep 1 to 2 level teaspoonfuls of the ground root or crushed leaf in a cup of boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes.