ABSTRACT
The ginsenosides are concentrated primarily in the root's cortical tissues compared to the quantities found in the interior portions. Ginseng root has been used for thousands of years in the traditional medical system in oriental countries. According to traditional Chinese medicine, Asian ginseng tastes sweet and a little bitter; is warm in property and nature; acts on the lungs, spleen, and stomach meridians; and nourishes the Qi and Shen. The triterpenoid saponins, called ginseng saponins or ginsenosides, are the major active constituents in American ginseng. American ginseng has a ginsenoside profile different from that of Asian ginseng in terms of total ginsenosides, the ratio of protopanaxadiol to protopanaxatriol, and other marker ginsenosides. Ginseng has a long history of use in Asia, which has generated interest in continuing the tradition into the present and studying, by modern methods, the constituents of ginseng and their pharmacologic and clinical effects.
