Panax ginseng
(Chinese ginseng, Korean ginseng)

Therapeutic Actions:

• Antifatigue and stimulant properties
• CNS sedative
• Controls homeostasis by acting on the endocrine system
• Enhances interferon production
• Enhances natural killer cell activity
• Hypoglycemic (in rat studies)
• Improves hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis feed back control
• Inhibits thrombin induced conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin, preventing platelet aggregation (in rat studies)
• Increases capacity of skeletal muscle to oxidize free fatty acids in preference to glucose to produce cellular energy
• Increases IgG and IgM formation
• Increases plasma levels of ACTH and corticosterone
• Increases the number and activity of lymphocytes in healthy subjects due to the ginsenoside constituents
• Stimulant
• Stimulates the biosynthesis of proteins (in rat studies)
• Tonic

Clinical Indications:

• Aging prevention
• Congestive heart failure
• Diabetes mellitus
• Fertility/Infertility
• Impotence
• Memory loss
• Aging
• Debility
• Improves stamina
• Insomnia
• Sexual inadequacy
• Stress

Contraindications:

• Acute illness, such as colds, flu or allergy attack
• Bronchitis
• Children
• Excessive menstrual bleeding
• Hypertension
• Pregnancy

Drug/Nutrient Interaction:

• In diabetics, insulin should be monitored due to the hypoglycemic effects
• Decreases anticoagulant effects of warfarin

Chemical Constituents:

• Acetylenic compounds:
  
  Falcarinol and Falcarintriol
  Panaxydol and Panaxytriol
• Calcium
• Choline
• Copper
• Iron
• Magnesium
• Manganese
• Pectin
• Saponin glycosides, referred to as ginsenosides by Japanese and panaxosides by Russians
• Starch
• Sterols
• Sugars
• Vanadium
• Vitamin B1
• Vitamin B2
• Vitamin B12
• Volatile oil containing:
  
  Beta-elemene
• Zinc

Toxicity:

• Overdoses can produce hypertension

Copyright 1998 - 2008 by L. Vicky Crouse, ND and James S. Reiley, ND. All rights reserved (ISSN 1527-0661).