ABSTRACT
THE term ginseng refers to "the essence of man" and represents perennial herbs that are generally derived from the genus Panax and are indigenous to Korea, China (e.g., Asian ginseng or P. ginseng C.A. Meyer), Vietnam (e.g., P. vietnamensis), Japan, India (e.g., P. pseudoginseng) and North America (P. quinquefolium) (Table 2.1). P. ginseng C.A. Meyer, P. vietnamensis and P. quinquefolium belong to the Araliaceae family (Hu, 1977). Vietnamese ginseng is a wild Panax species, whereas North American ginseng is grown commercially in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Ontario as well as in the eastern United States. Siberian or Russian ginseng is in fact a different plant (e.g., Eleutherococcus senticosus) that has apparent tonic effects similar to ginseng but is commonly referred to as Eleuthero ginseng. Traditional oriental folk medicine has claimed various ergogenic and health properties of ginseng when used by man and represents the basis for its use as a natural tonic for restorative properties for thousands of years. In traditional Chinese medicine, a perfect balance between the complementary forces of "yin" and "yang," are required to provide physical and spiritual well-being. Whereas the Asian ginseng is regarded as the yang, providing warmth to offset stressful (e.g., adaptogenic) conditions, the North American ginseng is referred to as the yin, or the converse, providing a cooling effect to counterbalance stress.
