biology

Ginseng

Ginseng is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ginseng rather than just read about it. In short: Ginseng () is the root of plants in the genus Panax, such as South China ginseng (P. notoginseng), Korean ginseng (P. ginseng), and American ginseng (P. quinquefolius), characterized by the presence of ginsenosides and gintonin. Ginseng has been used in the traditional medicine of Korea and China for centuries, although there is no clinical evidence that it has any therapeutic effects.

Key takeaways

Ginseng belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ginseng to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ginseng from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ginseng () is the root of plants in the genus Panax, such as South China ginseng (P. notoginseng), Korean ginseng (P. ginseng), and American ginseng (P. quinquefolius), characterized by the presence of ginsenosides and gintonin. Ginseng has been used in the traditional medicine of Korea and China for centuries, although there is no clinical evidence that it has any therapeutic effects. There is no substantial evidence that ginseng is effective for treating any medical condition and it has not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat or prevent a disease or to provide a health benefit. Although ginseng is sold as a dietary supplement, inconsistent manufacturing practices for supplements have led to analyses of some ginseng products contaminated with unrelated filler compounds, and its excessive use may have adverse effects or untoward interactions with prescription drugs.

Etymology The English word "ginseng" comes from the Teochew Chinese jîn-sim (人蔘; where this transliteration is in Pe̍h-ōe-jī). The first character 人 (pinyin rén; Modern Standard Mandarin pronunciation: [ʐə̌n] or [ɻə̌n]) means "person" and the second character 蔘 (pinyin: shēn; MSM: [ʂə́n]) means "plant root" in a forked shape.

Ginseng species

Genus Ginseng plants belong only to the genus Panax. Cultivated species include Panax ginseng (Korean ginseng), Panax japonicus (Japanese ginseng), Panax notoginseng (South China ginseng), Panax quinquefolius (American ginseng). Ginseng is found in cooler climates – the Korean Peninsula, Northeast China, Russian Far East, Canada and the United States, although some species grow in warm regions – South China ginseng being native to Southwest China and Vietnam. Panax vietnamensis (Vietnamese ginseng) is the southernmost Panax species known.

Wild ginseng

Wild ginseng (Korean: 산삼; Hanja: 山蔘; RR: sansam; lit. 'mountain ginseng') grows naturally in mountains and is hand-picked by gatherers known as simmani (심마니). The wild ginseng plant is almost extinct in China and endangered globally. This is due to high demand for the product in recent years, leading to the harvesting of wild plants faster than they can grow and reproduce (a wild ginseng plant can take years to reach maturity). Wild ginseng can be processed to be red or white ginseng. Wild American ginseng has long been used by Native Americans for medicine. Since the mid-1700s, it has been harvested for international trade. Wild American ginseng can be harvested in 19 states and the Appalachian Mountains but has restrictions for exporting.

Cultivated ginseng

Cultivated ginseng (Korean: 인삼; Hanja: 人蔘; RR: insam; lit. 'human ginseng') is less expensive than the rarely available wild ginseng. Cultivated ginseng (Korean: 장뇌삼; Hanja: 長腦蔘; RR: jangnoesam) is planted on mountains by humans and is allowed to grow like wild ginseng.

Other plants sometimes called ginseng True ginseng plants belong only to the genus Panax. Several other plants are sometimes referred to as ginseng, but they are from a different genus or even family. Siberian ginseng is in the same family, but not genus, as true ginseng. The active compounds in Siberian ginseng are eleutherosides, not ginsenosides. Instead of a fleshy root, Siberian ginseng has a woody root.

Angelica sinensis (female ginseng, dong quai) Codonopsis pilosula (poor man's ginseng, dangshen) Eleutherococcus senticosus (Siberian ginseng) Ficus microcarpa (Ginseng ficus) Gynostemma pentaphyllum (five-leaf ginseng, jiaogulan) Kaempferia parviflora (Thai ginseng, krachai dum) Lepidium meyenii (Peruvian ginseng, maca) Oplopanax horridus (Alaskan ginseng) Pfaffia paniculata (Brazilian ginseng, suma) Pseudostellaria heterophylla (Prince ginseng) Schisandra chinensis (five-flavoured berry) Trichopus zeylanicus (Kerala ginseng) Withania somnifera (Indian ginseng, ashwagandha) Eurycoma longifolia (Malaysian ginseng, tongkat ali)

Ginseng processing Ginseng seed normally does not germinate until the second spring following the harvest of berries in autumn. They must first be subjected to a long period of storage in a moist medium with a warm/cold treatment, a process known as stratification.

Fresh ginseng Fresh ginseng (Korean: 수삼; Hanja: 水蔘; RR: susam; lit. 'water ginseng'), also called "green ginseng", is non-dried raw product.

White ginseng White ginseng (Korean: 백삼; Hanja: 白蔘; RR: baeksam; lit. 'white ginseng') is peeled and dried ginseng. White ginseng is fresh ginseng which has been dried without being heated. It is peeled and dried to reduce the water content to 12% or less. Drying in the sun bleaches the root to a yellowish-white color.

Red ginseng

Red ginseng (traditional Chinese: 紅蔘; simplified Chinese: 红参; pinyin: hóngshēn; Korean: 홍삼; romaja: hongsam; lit. 'red ginseng') is steamed and dried ginseng, which has reddish color. Red ginseng is less vulnerable to decay than white ginseng. It is ginseng that has been peeled, heated through steaming at standard boiling temperatures of 100 °C (212 °F), and then dried or sun-dried. It is frequently marinated in an herbal brew which results in the root becoming extremely brittle.

Production Commercial ginseng is sold in over 35 countries, with China as the largest consumer. In 2013, global sales of ginseng exceeded $2 billion, of which half was produced by South Korea. In the early 21st century, 99% of the world's 80,000 tons of ginseng was produced in just four countries: China (44,749 tons), South Korea (27,480 tons), Canada (6,486 tons), and the United States (1,054 tons). All ginseng produced in South Korea is Korean ginseng (P. ginseng), while ginseng produced in China includes P. ginseng, South China ginseng (P. notoginseng), and the recently introduced American ginseng (P. quinquefolius). Ginseng produced in Canada and the United States is mostly P. quinquefolius. As of 2020, global P. ginseng and P. quinquefolius production each sum to an approximate 7,000 tons on a dry-weight basis. On a dry-weight basis, 70% of P. ginseng and 30% of P. quinquefolius is produced in China; 60% of P. quinquefolius is produced in Canada; and 10% of P. quinquefolius is produced in the US. P. ginseng is also cultivated in Japan.

Uses

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ginseng

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ginseng claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ginseng before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ginseng ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ginseng

In research: Ginseng appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ginseng in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ginseng is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Dietary supplements, Herbs, Non-timber forest products, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ginseng outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Ginseng in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ginseng means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ginseng out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ginseng in simple terms?

Why does Ginseng matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ginseng?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ginseng.