What Is Panax Quinquefolium?

Ginseng has been used in herbal medicine for centuries. Its scientific name, Panax quinqufolium, has roots in the Greek word, "Panakos," which means universal cure. Once believed to be native only in China, it is known to be a native plant in North America as well. Its Chinese name, "jin chen," refers to the root's resemblance to a human body.

Identification

Ginseng is about a foot high, with a straight stem. It has three leaves, each divided into five finely toothed leaflets, with a few small, yellowish flowers and a cluster of bright red berries. Ginseng root is large and fleshy, two to three to as many as six inches long, and 1/2-inch to 1-inch thick. It is often forked, resembling arms and legs.

Types

Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer, the Asian version, is almost extinct in the wild but is still cultivated in Korea. It has the same properties as the American Panax quinquefolia. Siberian ginseng, Eleutherococcus senticosus, does not contain the ginsenosides that make Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolia effective.

History

Ginseng has been used to fight fatigue, increase the ability to concentrate, relieve anxiety and as an aphrodisiac for centuries. Researchers for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture explored its possible effectiveness to reduce blood sugar levels in 1999, finding "significant blood glucose-lowering action both in non-diabetic
subjects and subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus when ginseng was given 40 minutes prior to the test meal."
Domestic ginseng cultivation began in the 1800s. By 1990, Wisconsin produced 3,000 to 5,000 acres of ginseng, netting $70 million in just one county. As of 2009, the largest producer of American ginseng is Ontario, Canada, cultivating close to 6,000 acres.

Geography

Panax quinquefolia is cultivated as a cash crop in Wisconsin and in Ontario, Canada. Its range is from Georgia in the south to Oklahoma in the west, and north into Quebec, Canada. Ironically, American ginseng is also being grown for export to the United States from China and Australia. American ginseng export is regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora agreement. Since 2004, in order to export Panax quinquefolia, you must be able to prove that it was legally obtained in a manner that did not threaten species survival.

Misconceptions

Although it still requires additional double-blind studies with larger sample populations, the Herb Quarterly reported in fall 2009 that the belief among physicians that ginseng should not be taken with anticoagulants might be incorrect. Korean researchers who studied 25 ischemic stroke survivors gave them warfarin alone or the drug plus ginseng. The sample size is too small to be considered definitive, but the results were that ginseng did not cause an increase in warfarin's blood-thinning action. Thus, patients taking ginseng for blood sugar reduction might still be able to continue to do so even if they are taking anticoagulants.