| American Ginseng | |
|---|---|
| Panax quinquefolius foliage and fruit | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Apiales |
| Family: | Araliaceae |
| Subfamily: | Aralioideae |
| Genus: | Panax |
| Species: | P. quinquefolius |
| Binomial name | |
| Panax quinquefolius L. |
|
American ginseng, Panax quinquefolius, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the ivy family, commonly used as Chinese or herbal medicine.
It is native to eastern North America, though it is also cultivated in places such as China.[2]
The plant's forked root and leaves were traditionally used for medicinal purposes by Native Americans. Since the 19th century, the roots have been collected by "'sang hunters" and sold to Chinese or Hong Kong traders, who often pay very high prices for particularly old wild roots.[3]
It is also known by its Chinese name Huaqishen (simplified Chinese: 花旗参; traditional Chinese: 花旗參; Mandarin Pinyin: huāqíshēn; Jyutping: faa1kei4sam1; literally "The Star-Spangled Banner (American) ginseng") or Xiyangshen (simplified Chinese: 西洋参; traditional Chinese: 西洋參; Mandarin Pinyin: xīyángshēn; Jyutping: sai1joeng4sam1; literally "west ocean ginseng").
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American ginseng was formerly particularly widespread in the Appalachian and Ozark regions (and adjacent forested regions such as Pennsylvania, New York State and Ontario), but due to its popularity the wild plant has been overharvested, and is thus rare in most parts of the United States and Canada.[4] Ginseng is also negatively affected by deer browsing, urbanization, and habitat fragmentation.[5]It is also grown commercially, under artificial shade, in fields in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and usually harvested after three to four years.[4] Many ginseng growers in Wisconsin are represented by the "Ginseng Board of Wisconsin",[6] whose seal is often sought after on ginseng products to certify they are genuine. Wisconsin, particularly Marathon County, accounts for approximately 95% of production in the United States.[7] Ginseng is also widely grown in Ontario, Canada.[8]
Like Panax ginseng, American ginseng contains dammarane-type ginsenosides as the major biologically active constituents. Dammarane type ginsenosides include two classifications: the 20(S)-protopanaxadiol (ppd) and 20(S)-protopanaxatriol (ppt) classifications. American ginseng contains high levels of Rb1, Rd (ppd classification) and Re (ppt classification) ginsenosides—higher than that of P. ginseng in one study.[9]
When taken orally, ppd-type ginsenosides are mostly metabolized by intestinal bacteria (anaerobes) to ppd monoglucoside, 20-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-20(S)-protopanaxadiol (M1). [10] In humans, M1 is detected in plasma from 7 hours after the intake of ppd-type ginsenosides and in urine from 12 hours after the intake. These findings indicate that M1 is the final metabolite of ppd-type ginsenosides. [11]
M1 is referred to in some articles as IH-901 [12] , and in others as compound-K. [11]