This is Starwest's nitrogen-flushed double wall silverfoil pack.

Used as a tea, decoction, extract, tincture, food additive and supplement.

Chinese Ren Shen, 'root of heaven,' Panax ginseng, Asian ginseng, is native to Manchuria and Korea and is cultivated in China, Korea and Japan. The ginseng plant requires 5-7 years to mature from seed. Ginseng has a sweetly aromatic flavour. Its root has long been regarded by the Chinese as a panacea for illness, though it was usually used by them in a prophylactic (preventive) rather than a curative manner.

Many Native American tribes used American ginseng, Panax quinquefolia. Medicinal uses ranged from digestive disorders to sexual problems.

The Chinese began to use American ginseng after it was imported during the 1700s. The traditional applications in China are somewhat different from those for Panax ginseng (Asian ginseng), American ginseng being considered a better stomachic.

The type and ratio of ginsenosides are somewhat different in American and Asian ginseng, but not radically different. Pharmacologically, ginseng is nonspecific in its effects and is capable of a normalizing action irrespective of the pathological situation.

Ginseng's ginsenosides are believed to increase energy, counter the effects of stress, and enhance intellectual and physical performance. Thirteen ginsenosides have been identified in Asian ginseng. Ginsenosides Rgl and Rbl have received the most attention.

Other constituents include the panaxans, which help lower blood sugar, and the polysaccharides (complex sugar molecules), which support immune function.

Numerous double-blind studies have confirmed Chinese tradition, objectively demonstrating Asian ginseng's ability to lower blood sugar, reduce fatigue and stress, and support the normal function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, the hormonal stress system of the body.

Ginseng's support of the brain's production of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) appears to improve mental performance, learning, and memory and sensory awareness, exactly as Chinese tradition has always maintained.

The 1997 Commission E on Phytotherapy and Herbal Substances of the German Federal Institute for Drugs, reflecting the opinion of modern scientific herbalism, recommends Ginseng root [Panax ginseng] 'As tonic for invigoration and fortification in times of fatigue and debility, for declining capacity for work and concentration, also during convalescence.'

'Daily dosage: 1 - 2 g of root; equivalent preparations. Mode of Administration: Cut root for teas, powder and galenical preparations for internal use. Duration of Administration: Generally up to 3 months. A repeated course is feasible.'

'Action: In various stress models, e.g., an immobilization test and the coldness test, the resistance of laboratory test animals (rodents) was increased.'

Grieve's classic 'A Modern Herbal': 'In China, both varieties [Asian Panax ginseng & American Panax quinquefolia] are used particularly for dyspepsia, vomiting and nervous disorders. A decoction of ½ oz. of the root, boiled in tea or soup and taken every morning, is commonly held a remedy for consumption and other diseases.'

'In Western medicine, it is considered a mild stomachic tonic and stimulant, useful in loss of appetite and in digestive affections that arise from mental and nervous exhaustion.'

King's 1898 Dispensatory: [Panax quinquefolia] 'A mild tonic and stimulant. Useful in loss of appetite, slight nervous debility, and weak stomach. Continued for some length of time, for its temporary administration gives but little benefit, it is a very important remedy in nervous dyspepsia, and in mental exhaustion from overwork. It gives fairly good results in nervous prostration, and in cerebral anemia.'

'By some, it is considered useful in asthma, gravel, convulsions, paralysis, to invigorate the virile powers, etc. It gives fairly good results in atonic laryngitis, bronchitis, and some relief in phthisis, being a secondary remedy for these complaints. Dose, of the powder, from 10 to 60 grains; of the infusion, from 2 to 4 fluid ounces; specific panax, 5 to 60 drops.'

American Materia Medica, 1919 (Ellingwood): [Panax quinquefolia] 'This agent is an important article of commerce in China, being a general domestic remedy and highly prized. It is a mild sedative and tonic to the nerve centers, improving their tone, if persisted in, and increasing the capillary circulation of the brain. It is given in cerebral anemia, and if combined with other tonics is capable of doing some good. It is also prescribed in the failure of digestion incident to nervous prostration and general nerve irritation.'

http://www.herbmed.org/Herbs/Herb108.htm:

Clinical Trials

64 neurasthenia patients given Ginkgo biloba/ginseng combination at 80, 160, or 320 mg bid for 90 days had improved heart rate and cognition Wesnes 1997

Quality-of-life assessed by an 11-item questionnaire, improved 6.4 points with vitamins and 11.9 points with vitamins plus ginseng in a 4 month, randomized, double-blind study with 625 patients Caso Marasco 1996

Spermatozoa number and motility and plasma testosterone, DHT, FSH and LH levels increased in men taking ginseng while PRL decreased in a study with 66 patients Salvati 1996

Antibody titre after flu vaccination was increased from 171 to 272 and number of flu cases dropped from 42 to 15 in the group taking 100 mg Ginsana for 12 weeks in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind investigation of 227 people Scaglione 1996


Erectile dysfunction patients had greater improvement with ginseng than placebo or trazodone in a trial with 90 men Choi 1995

Digoxin treatment of cardiac function was enhanced by red ginseng in a trial with 45 patients [Article in Chinese] Ding 1995

Cancer incidence was lower among ginseng users. Level was lowest for red ginseng (0.20), followed by white ginseng powder (0.30), fresh ginseng extract (0.37) and white ginseng extract (0.57) Yun 1995

200 precancerous patients treated with Hua-sheng-ping (Chrysanthemum morifolium, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Panax notoginseng) had 95.5% effective rate compared with 57% in the control group [Article in Chinese] Yu 1993

Systolic blood pressure of 10 adults decreased with large-dose (120 mg ginkgo biloba +200 mg ginseng) or half that dose. Diastolic blood pressure and heart rate decreased only in the high dosage group. Platelet aggregation is reduced by both doses Kiesewetter 1992

Exercise work load and maximal oxygen consumption were increased by ginseng in a double-blind, crossover study with 50 men taking, for 6 weeks, a preparation of ginseng extract, dimethylaminoethanol bitartrate, vitamins, minerals, and trace elements Pieralisi 1991

Angina improvement by Shenshao Tongguan Pian (saponins from Ginseng & Paeoniae, etc) in a randomized double blind trial of 565 cases of coronary heart disease [Article in Chinese] Hu 1990

Immune parameters were improved in 20 healthy volunteers taking 100 mg of aqueous or standardized extracts twice daily for 8 weeks Scaglione 1990

Among 905 consecutive cancer patients , the odds ratio of cancer in relation to ginseng intake was 0.56. Ginseng extract and powder were more effective than fresh sliced ginseng, the juice, or tea Yun 1990

Senility and coronary benefit was seen with 358 people (50-85 yr old) taking ginseng saponin at 150 mg/d for 2 months [Article in Chinese] Zhao 1990

Blood alcohol was 35% lower in men taking ginseng extract (3 g/65 kg body weight) along with alcohol (72 g/65 kg body weight) Lee 1987

Improvements in attention (cancellation test), processing (mental arithmetic, logical deduction), integrated sensory-motor function (choice reaction time) and auditory reaction time in 16 men taking 100 mg Korean ginseng twice a day for 12 weeks D'Angelo 1986

Total cholesterol, triglyceride and NEFA decreased while HDL (healthy) cholesterol increased in patients taking red ginseng powder. Platelet adhesiveness was also reduced Yamamoto 1983

Observational Studies/Case Reports

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formulation for complications due to continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis decreased the frequency and duration of dialysis Wei 1999

Systolic blood pressure was decreased by 8 weeks of 4.5 g/d red ginseng in a study of 26 hypertensive patients Han 1998

In smokers, 1.8 gm of red ginseng provided nearly as much antioxidant protection of DNA as 200 IU vitamin E Lee 1998

Dietary recall study of 4634 older people indicates lower cancer incidence among ginseng users Yun 1998

Gastric cancer risk decrease by ginseng has been reported in case-control and cohort studies Ahn 1997

Left ventricular diastolic function was improved by total saponins of Panax notoginseng in hypertensive patients [Article in Chinese] Feng 1997

Non-insulin-dependent diabetics had some improvements with 8 weeks of ginseng (100 or 200 mg) over placebo in a trial with 36 newly diagnosed patients Sotaniemi 1995