Asian ginseng

Description

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. It is among the longest living of plants. Panax ginseng is native to mountainous regions of Russian Far East (Outer Manchuria), 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 Panax ginseng is one of the most commonly cultivated ginseng species, along with P. notoginseng (found naturally in China) and P. quinquefolius There is no high-quality evidence for ginseng having a health effect. Ginseng phytochemicals called ginsenosides are under preliminary research for their potential to affect fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis, memory and cognition in otherwise healthy adults, and erectile dysfunction. 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 The Panax (ginseng) genus belongs to the Araliaceae(ivy) family. Panax species are characterized by the presence of ginsenosides and gintonin. Panax is one of approximately 60 plant genera with a classical disjunct east Asian and east North American distribution.Furthermore, this disjunct distribution is asymmetric as only two of the ~18 species in genus are native to North America. The name Panax, meaning "all-healing" in Greek, shares the same origin as "panacea" and was used for this genus because Carl Linnaeus was aware of its wide use in Chinese medicine.