Subject: Re: Ginseng and Side effects?

From: [email-masked] (Paul Iannone)
Date: 09 Nov 1995 08:51:18 GMT

In message ID <[email-masked]> on 11/8/95,
Gregory B. Dember wrote:

: Panax Ginseng is considered a warming herb in Chinese medicine.  Korean
: ginseng, also known as Red Ginseng, is even more warming than ordinary
: Panax Ginseng.
: 
: neither chinese ginseng nor korean ginseng should be used by people with
: fever, night sweats, skin rashes, headaches, high blood pressure  or any
: symptoms that are generally "hot" in nature.  

Since you predict my reply, here it is:

Panax ginseng, or Manchurian ginseng,  is available white or red from either
Korea or China. Red is more appropriately called 'cured' ginseng or 'steamed'
ginseng, and is considered to be the higher grade of ginseng. 

Panax ginseng --can-- be used in Hot conditions, with appropriate
modification. Panax ginseng can be useful in nightsweats, as there is often
the need to Boost the Digestive energies in order to take some of the
'weight' off the Kidney energies--ginseng is excellent for this.

A primary difference between American ginseng and Manchurian ginseng is that
there are few (any?) traditional formulas that use American ginseng--so it is
usually reserved for mild conditions where it can be used by itself. In other
words, it is only partly assimilated to the system of herbalism.

There are several 'ginsengs' which are ignored in the West, but NOT in the
East. The most important are Panax notoginseng (San qi), and Pseudostellaria
heterophylla, Prince root (Tai zi shen). Note should also be made of
Codonopsis pilosulae, Dang shen ('Relative root'), which is a common
substitute for Panax ginseng.

>From  personal experience, I can attest that wild Panax ginseng roots are
impressively potent.

--Paul  ||  [email-masked]
--