Panax ginseng is one of the most famous Chinese medicinal plants and enjoys a reputation as an adaptogen, that is an agent that nonspecifically enhances the body’s defenses against stress and disease. The root has been used in China for thousands of years and should not be judged as a traditional medicine because it is not directed against a specific disease, but against weakness and fatigue, reduced performance and concentration effect and promotes recovery.
Ginseng is an ancient healing plant. The drug comes from East Asian medicine, where it has been used for millennia to combat weakness and anxiety, the threat of collapse, decreased appetite, insomnia, impotence and infertility of women, and heart failure and is still held in high esteem. The genus name Panax, named after Panacea, the daughter of Asklepios, the all-healer, is composed of the Greek pas (everything) and Ã’Âkos (medicine) together.
Red Ginseng
The root of Korean red ginseng can help with physical and mental stress. Red ginseng regulates the hormonal system, activates the immune system and stimulates the senses. The ginseng root is used primarily as a general tonic for physical and mental exhaustion and relief of old age. More than 500 studies show the effect.
The extraordinary ability of ginseng root, to strengthen the entire body to vitalize and to provide new energy, not only benefits younger people. Ginseng also helps re-convalescence to recover quickly and for elderly people it helps to feel renewed. In fact, ginseng has been considered in Chinese medicine as the best means to preserve youth and to inhibit the natural aging process.
Other studies document the positive effects of ginseng in complaints with menopause, its immune-enhancing properties, beneficial effects on heart, liver (detoxification) and reproductive organs and, interestingly, the ability to protect against radiation damage to some extent.
For men ginseng seems to be an herbal alternative for impotency. Red Ginseng is being studied and appears to be a very effective means for erectile dysfunction. In some Far Eastern countries, the unsightly root has long been also used to support libido and stamina in men.