Ginseng is a perennial herb, of the Araliacea family of herbs, which owns its popularity to its roots. For thousand of years, traditional Chinese medicine has considered ginseng roots a remedy for mental and bodily fatigue. Even more, ginseng has been called the "king of herbs" for its outstanding curative properties.
There are basically two types of ginseng: American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) and Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng). American ginseng, also called Western ginseng, is grown in cool wooded areas in eastern North America while Asian ginseng is grown in the high temperate forests of China, Korea, and the eastern part of the former USSR, although nowadays its cultivation has spread to other areas of eastern Asia.
As an adaptogen, ginseng can help the body cope with physical, chemical, and biological stress. In general, adaptogens strengthen the body's immune system and restore balance to all bodily systems causing only minimal or no side effects. Adaptogens are also known as "tonics" because they restore vitality and increase the overall tone of the entire body.
Benefits of American ginseng for particular health conditions include the following:
Fatigue/Stress. Studies performed on animals showed the effect of ginseng when coping with stress. Mice were administered ginseng orally, and then put under conditions of extreme stress. The studies revealed that ginseng increases physical endurance and helps the body settle back to normal in a quicker way. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical study, 12 student nurses took a daily dose of 1200 mg. of unstandardized ginseng extract during a two-week trial. The student nurses who were also working night shifts showed improvement in their mood, fatigue feelings, and performance after taking ginseng.
Immunity. A clinical study showed that factory workers who took ginseng were less susceptible to colds, flu, tonsillitis, bronchitis, and sinus infections compared to those that did not consume the herb. Furthermore, ginseng has showed to boost body resistance. In another clinical study, healthy people demonstrated a better resistance to bacteria and cancer cells after taking ginseng for eight weeks.
High blood pressure. Ginseng helps keep optimum levels of potassium that eases high blood pressure. Even more, some laboratory tests demonstrate that ginseng promotes the conversion of amino acid arginine into nitric oxide (NO) that relaxes the walls of blood vessels.
Diabetes. Human studies showed that subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus improved their blood sugar control by attenuating postprandial glycemia. Furthermore, another clinical trial found that fasting blood glucose and hemoglobin A1C decreased in diabetic and nondiabetic patients that took ginseng. Moreover, studies showed that ginseng reduces blood sugar levels, suggesting value in managing diabetes. However, it is not a substitute for insulin, diabetic drugs, or prudent diet. Consult your physician.
Aging. From a clinical trial with 95 elderly patients taking ginseng daily, they showed improvements in memory, blood pressure, neurological function, and bodily function. Even more, 87 percent of them experienced an enhancement of mood. In general, ginseng showed to boost their energy. Moreover, scientists have found that ginseng works as an antioxidant in helping the body to get rid of destructive free radicals, a known culprit in our aging process.
The primary chemical components responsible for ginseng's exceptional effects are the ginsenosides, also known as panaxosides. Over the years, these ginsenosides were further identified and coded as Ra, Rb, Rc, and etc.
The proportion of ginsenosides in a plant varies according to different factors, such as its: source, age, variety, and method of drying, among others. Furthermore, some interesting discoveries have found that the root hairs and tendrils have extremely high levels of ginsenosides. Most importantly, the higher the level of ginsenosides in the ginseng root the higher its quality/potency. FCF ginseng has a 13% average of ginsenoside level what makes it a high quality ginseng.
Moreover, the species plays a mayor role in the ginsenosides' composition. For instance, the American ginseng has higher level of ginsenosides and less variety of ginsenosides compared to the Asian ginseng. These differences regarding the amount and variety of ginsenosides contributes to the "cooling" and "heating" effects of American ginseng and Asian ginseng respectively.
However, ginsenosides are not the only valuable active constituents of ginseng. There are other substances that contribute to the overall ginseng's effects such as polysaccharides, antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, essential oils, certain alkaloids, silicic acids, mucilaginous compounds, fiber, fatty acid, and phytosterin just to mention some. The polysaccharides, special sugar compounds, support the immune system. While antioxidants help reduce the damage cause by aging.
Overall, scientists have concluded that the effects of ginseng do not rely on isolated compounds, but on its multi-component system. This makes ginseng a perfect example of a herb in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
FCF Wisconsin Ginseng
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