Nature's Pharmacy: Ancient Knowledge, Modern Medicine
Ginseng
Panax quinquefolium
Name, Habitat and Appearance
Ginseng - called "green gold" by some - is both one of the world's most valued plants and one of its most revered medicines. The species name Panax comes from the Greek root meaning "all healing," and the word from which "panacea" (meaning cure-all) was also derived. The common name, Ginseng, comes from Chinese characters meaning "the essence of the earth in the form of man," commonly shortened to man-root. This name refers to Ginseng's gnarled fleshy root, with tendrils and rootlets that sometimes give it the shape of a person - a shape that signified to the ancients that ginseng treated the whole body.
American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolium) - related to the Asian species of Ginseng - is a shade-loving native of North American woodlands. Its natural range sweeps approximately from the Atlantic coast westward through the eastern hardwood forests of the United States and southern Canada, with Iowa (and the Great Plains in general) forming the western terminus. Ginseng has, however, been cultivated across the United States. A smallish forest floor plant, it reaches heights of 2 feet or less and boasts only 2,3, or 4 leaves, each leaf bearing five rough-toothed leaflets. This member of the Araliaceae family is related to the common Jack-in-the-pulpit, and like Jack-in-the-pulpit bears an upright cluster of bright red berries in the early fall.
Gathering and Preparation
Ginseng's medicinal value lies in its root, which may be chewed and eaten unprocessed, added to soups or liquors, and boiled or ground into tea, extracts, or powders that are ingested in a variety of forms. Ginseng is commonly added to mixtures of herbal medications.
History
Asian Ginseng has been revered in China for the past 5,000 years as a gift of the divine powers, capable of extraordinary restorative powers that adjust the whole body so that it is in tune with nature. It was thought to maintain the body in peak condition and thus combat degenerative conditions and the loss of vitality that comes with aging.
Many Native American nations, including the Cherokee, Iroquois, Pawnee, and Sioux, included American Ginseng in their extensive herbal pharmacopoeia. Use varied among nations, with most originally limited to treatments for stomach disorders, eye inflammations, earaches, and bleeding wounds.
The Chinese, with their ancient mythology surrounding Ginseng, have regarded certain Asian Ginseng roots as divine in origin and worth their weight in sliver or gold. China's heavy demands for the herb have prompted Korea to export wild mountain Ginseng for the past 18 centuries. Today there are almost no Asian Ginseng plants remaining in the wild. Korea, which cultivates large quantities, is now the world's major Ginseng-producing nation. China also cultivates large quantities for its own consumption.
The discovery of American Ginseng by European settlers dates from early 1700s, when a Jesuit priest in Manchuria observed the healing properties of Asian Ginseng and sent a description of the plant to a fellow Jesuit working in Canada with the Iroquois. Soon afterward this second priest identified the similar-appearing American Ginseng growing in the forest near Montreal. Within a year, the French were hiring Canadian Native Americans to dig Ginseng roots that were exported to Asia. The practice soon spread southward. Ginseng export is credited for founding the fortune of John Jacob Astor of the American Fur Company. Many other American settlers, including Daniel Boone, became heavily involved in its trade.
Today most American Ginseng is cultivated, although some is still collected in the wild. Canadian growers produce 1.5 million pounds annually, and American growers (mostly in Wisconsin) grow another nearly-2 million pounds. Oriental production of Ginseng dwarfs these quantities, and a full 95% of the worldwide crop flows to the Asian marketplace.
Historical Uses
- To alleviate fatigue, headache, amnesia and weakness
- Preventive powers
- Aphrodisiac
- To treat tuberculosis, diabetes, circulatory and metabolic disorders, cancer and heart and kidney diseases by boosting immunity and supporting patient's vitality
- To improve strength, vitality and stamina
- To increase body's resistance
Warnings
Avoid high doses. Generally free of side effects in healthy individuals, but persons with hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and those on other medications should use Ginseng with care.
Modern Medicinal Uses
Westerners are increasingly adopting Ginseng as cure-all, aphrodisiac, stimulant, and stress regulator. In the United States, American and Asian Ginseng are usually considered one-and-the-same; however, traditional Chinese medicine views the two species as having related but different properties and values. Asian Ginseng is thought to have warming, energizing powers and is thus recommended for men, the old and weak, and in cold climates. American Ginseng is considered more suitable for women. It is advised for use in hot climates. The sedative qualities of Ginseng are thought to build strength and allow proper rest.
Herbalists today prescribe Ginseng as a stimulant, and as a tonic to prevent stress. The active components of Ginseng are the terpenoidal glycosides. The website Medline - Healthline's free access database to medical journal abstracts - lists a large number of scientific studies currently being done on the effects of Ginseng. Included are: antitumor activities by Ginseng saponins; in vitro and in vivo experiments with Korean Red Ginseng on erection; relationship to antidiarrheal effects; inhibitory effects of saponin on nicotine-induced hyperactivity; decrease of platelet adhesiveness in heart and circulatory problems; enhancement of nerve growth factor mediated neurite outgrowth; and effects of standardized Panax Ginseng extract on hepatic antioxidant functioning.
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