Ginseng: The King of Herbs
Health Lab- Feb 10
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 29
Ginseng, often called the "king of herbs," is a treasured medicinal plant with a rich history in traditional Chinese medicine. Known scientifically as Panax ginseng, it belongs to the Araliaceae family, and its dried root is a cornerstone of herbal remedies.
Grown primarily in China's Jilin, Liaoning, and Heilongjiang provinces, ginseng thrives in these regions due to their ideal climate and geography.
Ancient texts, like the Shennong Bencao Jing, praise ginseng as a top-tier herb that "replenishes vital energy, calms the spirit, improves eyesight, and sharpens the mind." Similarly, the Compendium of Materia Medica describes it as a remedy for weakness, fatigue, dizziness, and a wide range of deficiencies. This article explores ginseng's origins, types, benefits, modern uses, and important precautions for its use.
What Is Ginseng?
Ginseng is a perennial plant with distinctive roots that vary in shape and preparation. Its roots are typically classified into three forms:
Raw Sun-Dried Ginseng: These cylindrical or hammer-shaped roots, 3–15 cm long, have a grayish-yellow surface with coarse horizontal lines and wrinkles. They are hard, with a powdery texture, a pale yellow-white interior, and a slightly bitter-sweet taste with a unique aroma.
Sun-Dried Wild Ginseng: Shorter and often herringbone-shaped, these roots are 2–10 cm long with a grayish-yellow surface and dense, ring-like patterns. They have thin, clear lateral roots with wart-like protrusions.
Raw Sun-Dried Ginseng Slices: These round or near-round slices are grayish-white with chrysanthemum-like patterns. They are light, crispy, and carry ginseng’s signature aroma.
Types of Ginseng
Ginseng varieties differ based on their origin and processing methods:
Changbai Ginseng: Grown in China’s Changbai Mountain region, it is renowned for its superior quality and often called the "king of ginseng."
Korean Ginseng: Cultivated in South Korea, this high-quality variety has a long history and is sometimes referred to as "red gold."
American Ginseng: Native to North America, it has a cooler nature, making it less intense for boosting energy but excellent for promoting hydration and relieving thirst.
Ginseng is further divided by preparation:
Red Ginseng: Steamed at high temperatures, it has a warming effect and is ideal for those with colder constitutions.
White Ginseng: Naturally dried, it promotes hydration and suits those with warmer constitutions.
Health Benefits of Ginseng
Ginseng is celebrated for its ability to boost energy, strengthen the body, and support overall health. Its key benefits include:
Boosting Energy: Ginseng restores vitality in cases of fatigue, weak pulse, or cold limbs.
Supporting Digestion and Lung Health: It improves appetite, reduces asthma, and strengthens respiratory function.
Hydrating and Cooling: Ginseng relieves thirst and dry mouth caused by fluid loss or internal heat.
Calming the Mind: It helps with insomnia, palpitations, and mental fog, promoting better sleep and focus.
Improving Circulation: Ginseng supports heart health and can aid in conditions like erectile dysfunction or heart failure.
Modern Uses of Ginseng
Modern research highlights ginsenosides, the active compounds in ginseng, for their wide-ranging benefits. Beyond traditional uses, ginseng shows promise in:
Cancer Prevention: Early studies suggest ginsenosides may slow cancer cell growth and boost immune responses, though more human research is needed.
Anti-Aging: Ginseng’s antioxidants may slow aging and improve skin health.
Immune Support: It enhances immune function, helping the body resist illness.
Heart Health: Ginseng may lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, and improve cardiovascular function.
Today, ginseng is used in supplements, teas, and skincare products, making it accessible for both health and wellness.
Precautions When Using Ginseng
While ginseng offers many benefits, it should be used carefully:
Know Your Constitution: Red ginseng suits those with colder bodies, while white ginseng is better for warmer constitutions.
Control Dosage: Too much ginseng can cause side effects. Adjust the dose based on your health and needs.
Check for Contraindications: People with high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, or who are pregnant should consult a doctor before use.
Avoid Drug Interactions: Ginseng may interact with certain medications, so check with a healthcare provider.
Chinese Name | 紅參 |
Chinese Pinyin | Hongshen |
English Name | Red Ginseng |
Latin Pharmaceutical Name | Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma Rubra |
Category | Roots and rhizomes |
Origin | The dried root and rhizome of Panax ginseng C. A. Mey.(Araliaceae) |
Production Regions | Primarily produced in northeastern China and the Korean peninsula. |
Macroscopic Features | Main root is fusiform or cylindrical, 3~10cm long, 1~2cm diameter. Externally translucent, reddish-brown, sometimes with opaque dark yellowish-brown spots, with longitudinal grooves, wrinkles and thin root scars; upper portion has interrupted indistinct rings, lower portion has 2~3 twist-crossed lateral roots, with curved rootlets or remnants rootlets. Rhizome (“neck”) is 1~2cm long, apex has numerous indented stem scars (“bowls”), sometimes has 1~2 intact or broken adventitious roots. Hard and brittle texture, fractured surface is smooth and horn-like. faint distinctively aromatic odor; sweet and slightly bitter taste. |
Quality Requirements | Superior medicinal material is intact, thick, hard, with ‘yellow vest’. |
Properties | Sweet, slightly bitter; warm. |
Functions | Greatly supplements original qi, secures desertion, engenders fluid, calms spirit. Apply to injury due to exhaustion, lack of food intake, lassitude, nausea and vomiting, loose of stools, cough due to deficiency and panting, sweating and acute prostration, palpitate with fear, amnesia, dizziness and headache, impotence, frequent urination, diabetes, metrorrhagia and metrostaxis, infantile convulsions, discovery of chronicly deficiency, and all the diseases of deficiency of qi and blood and fluid. |
Technical Terms | 'Yellow vest’: This refers to an earthy-yellow color that can be seen on the surface of the root body in relatively mature ginseng; its name comes from its appearance, which is like a yellow vest (Mandarin jacket) upon the root body. It is sometimes produced during the secondary processing of red ginseng. |
Remark | Ginseng (Panax ginseng) is listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix II. Their trade is allowed but subject to licensing controls. |
Chinese Name | 人參 |
Chinese Pinyin | Renshen |
English Name | Ginseng Root |
Latin Pharmaceutical Name | Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma |
Category | Roots and rhizomes |
Origin | The dried root and rhizome of Panax ginseng C. A. Mey.(Araliaceae) (cultivated). |
Production Regions | Primarily produced in the Chinese provinces of Jilin, Liaoning, Heilongjiang. |
Macroscopic Features | Sun-dried ginseng: Root is fusiform or cylindrical, 3~15cm long, 1~2cm diameter. Externally grayish-yellow, upper portion or whole body has loose and shallow intermittent thick horizontal lines and obvious longitudinal wrinkles, lower portion has 2~3 lateral roots, with numerous thin and long rootlets which have unobvious tiny verruca. Rhizome is 1~4cm long, 0.3~ 1.5 cm diameter, often twisted and curved, with adventitious roots and loose indented stem scars. Relatively hard texture, fractured surface is pale yellowish-white, powdery, cambium rings are brownish-yellow, cortex has yellowish-brown spotted resin canal and radial cracks. Distinctive odor, slightly bitter, sweet taste. Wild ginseng: main root and rhizome is equally long or relatively short, “人”shaped, rhombus or cylindrical, 2~10cm long. Externally grayish-yellow, with longitudinal wrinkles, upper portion has dense deep ringed horizontal lines, often has 2 lateral roots, rootlets is thin and long, clear and not messed, with obvious verruca. Rhizome is thin and long, upper portion has dense stem scars, adventitious root is relatively thick, similar to jujube seed. Wild ginseng pieces: spherical or sub-spherical thin pieces, externally grayish-white, with “chrysanthemum lines,” powdery, light in weight, brittle texture. Distinctively aromatic odor. |
Quality Requirements | Superior medicinal material has thick strip, hard texture, thin skin, without broken. |
Properties | Neutral; sweet and slightly bitter taste, slightly warm. |
Functions | Greatly supplements original qi, restores the pulse, secures desertion, supplements the spleen, benefits the lung, engenders body fluids, stops thirst, quiets the spirit, promotes intelligence. Apply to complete exhaustion due to physical weakness, cold limbs and weak pulse, poor appetite due to splenic deficiency, coughing with asthma due to pulmondeficiency, hydrodipsia due to depletion of body fluids, feverish dysphoria and diabetes, deficiency and weakness due to invalidism, palpitation and insomnia, impotence and uterus cold, cardiac failure, cardiogenic shock. |
Processed Form | White ginseng (sweet ginseng): Often use the Korean red ginseng with short body, relatively inferior texture, boiled in water, soak in sugar water, then sun-dry. The nature has most neutral nature, relatively less effects; apply to supplement the spleen and lung. Red ginseng: steam ginseng with high temperature for 2h until it completely cooked, remove the rootlets after dried, press into irregular square cylindrical shape. it has effect of warm-supplement. Still has nature of vigorous warm and dry while supplementing qi; advanced in excite yang qi, apply to emergency treatment and rescue yang. Organic ginseng: no pesticide residue, no chemical fertilizer, no transgenosis cultivated. Maximally retained the composition and effect of ginseng. |
Technical Terms | 'Neck': This refers to the remnants of rhizome seen on the apex of root medicinal materials, it is a feature used in the differentiation of medicinal materials. 'Stem scar': this refers to the numerous rounds or semi-circular concave scars of withered stems that can be seen on the 'neck'; that are shaped like small bowls. 'Iron wire striations': this refers to dark-colored, round striations that are present on the outer surface of the upper portion of the taproot of wild ginseng, it is a diagnostic feature used in the identification of wild ginseng. 'Pearl dots': this refers to small protuberances on the fine rootlets of wild ginseng; these areas also called 'pearl bumps'. |
Remark | Ginseng (Panax ginseng) is listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix II. Its trade is allowed but subject to licensing controls. |
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