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Newsletter
Buyer’s Guide on How To Buy Quality American Ginseng, Part IV
by Meng Wong, USA.
Email: Mengwon@yahoo.com
My condense buyer’s guide on ginseng: Buy 3-4 years old cultivated 100% pure Wisconsin American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) products directly from a reliable Wisconsin producer or supplier. For best value, buy Wisconsin American ginseng powder or capsule, and tendrils for daily use and small slice/cut roots for culinary/medicinal use. Make sure the ginseng products you purchase have the Wisconsin Real Seal emblem sticker with a unique seal number and their average ginsenosides levels at 10% or higher (the value must be generated from whole ginseng roots only). To find these reliable ginseng growers or farms, just search the world wide web (e.g. at www.Google.com) and use "Wisconsin American ginseng grower", "Wisconsin ginseng grower", "Wisconsin ginseng producer", "Wisconsin American ginseng farm", "100% Wisconsin American ginseng" or similar key phrases to search.
I hope this information will help you to become a more educated consumer in buying quality ginseng products. If you have any comments, please contact me at Mengwon@yahoo.com.
Previously, I shared with you my background and personal experiences. I included several links for anyone who wish to read up on the benefit of ginseng. Lastly, I discussed the "Naturally Expensive Root".
These are the topics of each chapter of my buyer guide information:
1) Naturally Expensive Root
2) Consumer Beware
3) Quality of Ginseng Root:
Age, Shape/Size, Active ingredients, Type of ginsengs, Part of root, Type of products, Reliable producer/supplier, Wild/Wood-grown/Cultivated roots, and price factor 4) What should you do as a consumer? Step by step action plan.
5) My ginseng recipes and more In this article, I will discussed the features of "Quality Ginseng Root" by sharing with you my research on the active ingredients of American ginseng.
What you need to know before buying ginseng products
3) Quality of Ginseng Root
d) Active Ingredients:
My conclusion: Buy 100% Wisconsin American ginseng with Wisconsin Real Seal Emblem Sticker on the package. Know the ginsenoside levels of the ginseng products and compare before your purchase. Make sure of the reported ginsenoside levels are generated from whole ginseng roots but not just the certain parts of the root. The higher the ginsenoside the greater its potency and effect. Buy prong or rootlets for best value of your money.
With the current scientific advancements, the main active components of ginseng roots were identified as ginsenosides. These ginsenosides were further identified and coded as Ra, Rb1, Rb2, 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, tendrils and rootlets contain higher levels of ginsenosides than the other parts of the root. Moreover, the type of ginseng plays a mayor role in the ginsenosides’ composition. For instance, the American ginseng has higher level of almost all ginsenosides exceot Rb1 ginsenoside compared to the Asian ginseng. These differences regarding the amount and variety of ginsenosides contribute to the “cooling” and “heating” effects of American ginseng and Asian ginseng respectively.
In addition to ginsenosides, there are other substances that contribute to the overall ginseng’s effect 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.
Currently, AOAC (national organization which publicizes all standard analytical methods for common food ingredients) has put ginseng on its highest priority to seek the most effective analytical method to characterize all the ginseng’s ingredients. Until then, using the ginsenoside level to compare ginseng products will bring you the best value for your money. One caveat, make sure of the reported ginsenoside levels are generated from whole ginseng roots but not just certain parts of the root.
... to be continued
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