GINSENG

GINSENG

Synonym

Ninjin, Pannag, Panax.

Biological Source

Ginseng is the dried root of various species of Panax, like P. ginseng (Korean ginseng), P. ponica (Japanese ginseng), P. notoginseng (Chinese ginseng) and P. quinquefolium (American seng), belonging to family Araliaceae.

Geographical Source

It grows widely in Korea, China and Russia. Presently, ginseng is commercially cultivated in Korea, China, Japan, Russia, Canada and United States of America. In India at present it is cultivated Kohima, Tunsang district of Nagaland. It is also available in Arunachal area.

Like some of the wellknownayurvedic medicines, ginseng has generated large interest because is novel pharmacological actions. An international symposium was arranged at Lugano in 1975 discuss the analytical, pharmacological and clinical aspects of ginseng, which was sponsored by World Health Organisation.

The term Panax indicates Curve all (Pan and axos), whileginseng is derived from Chinese wordsshensang, which stands for manroot, because the shape of the root resembles the human body. The references about ginseng are found in ancient Chinese literature, stating its medicinal properties. low-a-days, ginseng is considered as adaptogen. It increases non-specific resistance and defence mechanism of the body.

Cultivation and Collection

Ginseng is propagated by means of seeds in nursery beds and then transplanted into open field like permanent beds. The ripe seeds are collected from four year old plants. They are so November in nursery beds. There are 3 types of nursery beds viz. Yang-jik, To-jik and Ban-Yang jik .. The first type gives high quality seedlings. After attaining sufficient growth, the seedlings are dug up  in the following May and transplanted to permanent beds for next 3 - 5 years. Ginseng requires loam or sandy loam soil. It grows at altitudes from 100 - 800 metres. The soil with high amount of  potassium gives better results. About 10 - 15 seedlings are planted in one square metre. About 7days after transplantation, shades are provided to plants to protect them from excessive Sun Generally, use of fertilizers is avoided, but before transplantation, the soil is mixed with a amount of green grass. Periodically, weeding is done. The plants are harvested 3 - 5 years transplantation. Generally, they are harvested between July to October. White ginseng is obtained by removing the outer layers of the roots. Red ginseng is obtained by first steaming the roots after that they are dried. But, removal of outer layers may lead to loss of active constituents.

Uses

Ginseng is an important immunomodulatory drug. It shows a wide range of activities. It increases the natural resistance (non-specific resistance) and enhances the power to overcome the illness and exhaustion. It has both stimulant and sedative properties. It is used as aphrodisiac. It is believed to be useful adrenal and thyroid dysfunctioning.

 In old days, ginseng was used for a number of ailments, like curing the giddiness and prolonging life of elderly and diabetic persons. It  is given as demulcent and in gastritis and aneamia.