Ginseng

Ginseng originally grows in the mountainous regions of North Korea, China, Manchuria and eastern Siberia; cultivated in northern China, Korea, Japan and Russia. S.a. Ginseng, American (Panax quinquefolius L.), Siberian (Eleutherococcus senticosus), Russian = bristly taiga root. A distinction is made between Chinese ginseng, American ginseng, Chinese ginseng (notoginseng, Panax pseudoginseng) and Korean ginseng (true ginseng, Panax ginseng), which is the most highly valued. There is also the Tienchi or Sanchi ginseng (Panax notoginseng), the Vietnamese ginseng (Panax vietnamensis) and the Japanese ginseng (Panax japonicus).
The slow-growing plants require a lot of care. Phytotherapeutically, the roots of the 4-6 year old plants, Ginseng radix, Eleutherococci radix, are used.

Of the most commonly used Korean ginseng, there is red and white ginseng: a distinction is made between red and white ginseng depending on how the freshly harvested ginseng root is processed:

White ginseng: The freshly harvested ginseng root is bleached with sulphur dioxide after washing and dried.

Red ginseng; treatment with hot steam after harvesting. This creates a horn-like, reddish-brown structure in the outer root layer, which means that the

ingredients are broken down less quickly. Red ginseng is therefore considered to be of higher quality than white ginseng.

Cosmetics: The drug from the root is used in cosmetic formulations under the INCI name: Panax ginseng extract (INCI) as an antistatic agent.

Caution: simultaneous consumption of caffeinated drinks, hypertension and insomnia!

1. Wenigmann M. (2017) Phytotherapy medicinal drugs, phytopharmaceuticals, application. Urban & Fischer, pp. 114-116
2. https://arzneipflanzenlexikon.info/ginseng.php

3. Blaschek W (2015) Wichtl tea drugs and phytopharmaceuticals. A handbook for practice. Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft Munich. S 294-297