ABSTRACT
The age-old panacea tonic is not popular in Western countries, particularly in the United States. The biological data on ginseng's activities, using chemically purified material and identified specimens, are much more scientifically meaningful and valid. From 1900 to 1935, ginseng studies became one of the most active projects at many pharmaceutical colleges and medical centers. Ginseng is used by the laity as a stimulant and aromatic bitter. From 1936 to 1945, ginseng research was interrupted as a result of the Sino-Japanese War and World War II. Few ginseng scientific papers are seen in the literature published between 1936 and 1950. As early as in 1859, a scientific expedition was organized in St. Petersburg to explore the Manchu territory and the frontier of Korea and examine especially the ginseng and other Chinese plantations with a view of establishing plantations on Russian soil for the purpose of trade with China.
