Panax ginseng

Panax ginseng, ginseng, also known as Asian ginseng, Chinese ginseng or Korean ginseng,  is a species of plant whose root is the original source of ginseng. It is a perennial plant that grows in the mountains of East Asia.

Panax ginseng is primarily cultivated in Korea. While all South Korean ginseng is Panax ginseng, ginseng production in China encompasses both Panax ginseng and South China ginseng (Panax notoginseng).

Names
Panax ginseng is called Rénshēn (人蔘 or 人参 or 人參; lit. 'ginseng') in Mandarin (Chinese), Insam in Korean, Nhân Sâm in Vietnamese and Ninjin (人参) in Japanese. The specific epithet ginseng means "man-herb" or "forked root".

Description
Panax ginseng is a herbaceous perennial growing from 30 to 60 cm tall. Plants have a spindle- or cylinder-shaped taproot, usually with 1 or 2 main branches. Plants produce 3 to 6 leaves that are palmately compound, with each leaf having 3 to 5 leaflets. The margins of the leaflets are densely serrated. The flowers are born in a solitary inflorescence that is a terminal umbel with 30 to 50 flowers. The peduncles of the flowers are 15 to 30 cm long. The flower ovary is 2-carpellate, with each carpel having two distinct styles. Mature fruits are 4–5 x 6–7 millimeters in size, red in color, and round with flattened ends. The white seeds are kidney-shaped. The (2n) diploid chromosome count is 48.

Taxonomy


In a letter dated 12 April 1711, the French Jesuit mathematician and cartographer Pierre Jartoux described gin-seng, a Chinese name for a plant now known as Panax ginseng. According to Jartoux, the name means "form of man", which refers to the shape of the root.

Distribution
Panax ginseng is native to mountainous regions of the Russian Far East, Northeast China, and the Korean Peninsula. It is a protected plant in Russia and China, and most commercial ginseng is now sourced from plants cultivated in China, Korea and Russia. It is also cultivated in some areas of Japan. The plant is a slow-growing perennial, and the roots are usually harvested when the plants are five or six years old.

Cultivation
Panax ginseng is one of the most commonly cultivated ginseng species, along with P. notoginseng (found naturally in China) and P. quinquefolius.

Research
There is no high-quality evidence for ginseng having any health effect. Ginseng phytochemicals, such as ginsenosides, are under preliminary research for their potential to affect fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis, as well as various cognitive effects and aging-related disorders. Panax ginseng is generally considered safe for adults when used for less than six months, but may be unsafe to use for longer than six months.

Potential for adverse effects
Use of Panax ginseng during pregnancy and breastfeeding is potentially unsafe. It may have adverse effects in people with immune disorders, bleeding conditions, cardiovascular diseases or cancer. It should not be used by children.

Folk medicine
Ginseng is used as an herb in folk medicine. It is consumed due to the belief that it may improve memory and cognition in otherwise healthy adults and that it may improve sexual function in adults with erectile dysfunction.