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Ginseng

Ginseng (/ˈdʒɪnsɛŋ/) is the root of plants in the genus Panax, such as Korean ginseng (P. ginseng), South China ginseng (P. notoginseng), and American ginseng (P. quinquefolius), typically characterized by the presence of ginsenosides and gintonin.Wild Korean ginseng (P. ginseng)Wild American ginseng (P. quinquefolius)Cultivated Korean ginseng (P. ginseng)Cultivated American ginseng (P. quinquefolius)Fresh ginseng (P. ginseng)Red ginseng (P. ginseng)Insam-twigim (ginseng fritters)Samgye-tang (ginseng chicken soup)Insam-cha (ginseng tea) and yugwa (rice puffs)Insam-ju (ginseng liquor)Sansam-ju (wild ginseng liquor) Ginseng (/ˈdʒɪnsɛŋ/) is the root of plants in the genus Panax, such as Korean ginseng (P. ginseng), South China ginseng (P. notoginseng), and American ginseng (P. quinquefolius), typically characterized by the presence of ginsenosides and gintonin. Although ginseng has been used in traditional medicine over centuries, modern clinical research is inconclusive about its medical effectiveness. There is no substantial evidence that ginseng is effective for treating any medical condition, and its use has not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a prescription drug. Although ginseng is commonly sold as a dietary supplement, inconsistent manufacturing practices for supplements have led to analyses showing that ginseng products may be contaminated with toxic metals or unrelated filler compounds, and its excessive use may have adverse effects or untoward interactions with prescription drugs. The English word 'ginseng' comes from the Hokkien Chinese jîn-sim (.mw-parser-output .script-Cprt{font-size:1.25em;font-family:'Segoe UI Historic','Noto Sans Cypriot',Code2001}.mw-parser-output .script-Hano{font-size:125%;font-family:'Noto Sans Hanunoo',FreeSerif,Quivira}.mw-parser-output .script-Latf,.mw-parser-output .script-de-Latf{font-size:1.25em;font-family:'Breitkopf Fraktur',UnifrakturCook,UniFrakturMaguntia,MarsFraktur,'MarsFraktur OT',KochFraktur,'KochFraktur OT',OffenbacherSchwabOT,'LOB.AlteSchwabacher','LOV.AlteSchwabacher','LOB.AtlantisFraktur','LOV.AtlantisFraktur','LOB.BreitkopfFraktur','LOV.BreitkopfFraktur','LOB.FetteFraktur','LOV.FetteFraktur','LOB.Fraktur3','LOV.Fraktur3','LOB.RochFraktur','LOV.RochFraktur','LOB.PostFraktur','LOV.PostFraktur','LOB.RuelhscheFraktur','LOV.RuelhscheFraktur','LOB.RungholtFraktur','LOV.RungholtFraktur','LOB.TheuerbankFraktur','LOV.TheuerbankFraktur','LOB.VinetaFraktur','LOV.VinetaFraktur','LOB.WalbaumFraktur','LOV.WalbaumFraktur','LOB.WeberMainzerFraktur','LOV.WeberMainzerFraktur','LOB.WieynckFraktur','LOV.WieynckFraktur','LOB.ZentenarFraktur','LOV.ZentenarFraktur'}.mw-parser-output .script-en-Latf{font-size:1.25em;font-family:Cankama,'Old English Text MT','Textura Libera','Textura Libera Tenuis',London}.mw-parser-output .script-it-Latf{font-size:1.25em;font-family:'Rotunda Pommerania',Rotunda,'Typographer Rotunda'}.mw-parser-output .script-Lina{font-size:1.25em;font-family:'Noto Sans Linear A'}.mw-parser-output .script-Linb{font-size:1.25em;font-family:'Noto Sans Linear B'}.mw-parser-output .script-Ugar{font-size:1.25em;font-family:'Segoe UI Historic','Noto Sans Ugaritic',Aegean}.mw-parser-output .script-Xpeo{font-size:1.25em;font-family:'Segoe UI Historic','Noto Sans Old Persian',Artaxerxes,Xerxes,Aegean}人蔘; where this transliteration is in Pe̍h-ōe-jī). The first character 人 (pinyin rén; Modern Standard Mandarin pronunciation:  or ) means 'person' and the second character 蔘 (pinyin: sān; MSM: ) means 'plant root'; this refers to the root's characteristic forked shape, which resembles the legs of a person. The botanical genus name Panax, meaning 'all-healing' in Greek, shares the same origin as 'panacea' and was applied to this genus because Carl Linnaeus was aware of its wide use in Chinese medicine as a muscle relaxant. One of the first written texts covering the use of ginseng as a medicinal herb was the Shen-Nung Pharmacopoeia, written in China in 196 AD. In his Compendium of Materia Medica herbal of 1596, Li Shizhen described ginseng as a 'superior tonic'. However, the herb was not used as a 'cure-all' medicine, but more specifically as a tonic for patients with chronic illnesses and those who were convalescing. Control over ginseng fields in China and Korea became an issue in the 16th century. Ginseng plants belong only to the genus Panax. Cultivated species include Panax ginseng (Korean ginseng), Panax notoginseng (South China ginseng), and Panax quinquefolius (American ginseng). Ginseng is found in cooler climates – Korean ginseng being native to Korean Peninsula, Northeast China, and Russian Far East, and American ginseng native to Canada and the United States, although some species grow in warm regions – South China ginseng being native to Southwest China and Vietnam. Panax vietnamensis (Vietnamese ginseng) is the southernmost Panax species known. Wild ginseng (Korean: 산삼; Hanja: 山蔘; RR: sansam; lit. mountain ginseng) grows naturally in mountains and is hand-picked by gatherers known as simmani (심마니). It is relatively rare and even increasingly endangered due to high demand for the product in recent years, leading to the harvest of wild plants faster than the growth which can take years to reach maturity. Wild ginseng can be processed to be red or white ginseng. Cultivated ginseng (Korean: 인삼; Hanja: 人蔘; RR: insam; lit. human ginseng) is less expensive compared to rarely available wild ginseng.

[ "Biochemistry", "Botany", "Alternative medicine", "Alternaria panax", "Panaxytriol", "Rhexocercosporidium panacis", "Japanese ginseng", "Panax trifolius" ]
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