Multiple effects of American ginseng in clinical medicine - Letter to the Editor

Ginseng is a highly valued herb in the Far East. The bottom of ginseng has been used for above 2000 years in the belief that it is a panacea and encourages longevity. As described in Chinese traditional medicine textbook its effectiveness reaches mythical proportions (Lee 1992; Huang, 1999) Originally labeled as an "adaptogen," ginseng helps to increase resistance to stres and restore homeostasis. The efficacy of ginseng was known in the West by dint of the 18th century, and the close attention of ginseng has a lengthy history. Among seven major species of ginseng (Huang, 1999) the following three are the greatest in quantity commonly used: Panax ginseng (Asian ginseng), Panax quinquefolius (American ginseng), and Panax japonicus (Japanese ginseng). American ginseng is grown in the northern U and Canada, on the other hand is also cultivated in France and northern China (Bensky and Gamble, 1993) In the past ten years, American ginseng has been the individual of the best selling herbs in the US

The major active constitutings of ginseng are ginsenosides, a diverse clump of steroidal saponins, which demonstrate the ability to target a myriad of tissues, producing an array of pharmacological rejoinders Since ginsenosides and other constituents of ginseng bring out effects that are different from single another, and a single ginsenoside initiates multiple actions in the same tissue, the overall pharmacology of ginseng is manifold (Attele et al., 1999). Multiple constituents of ginseng lead the multiple actions. Ginseng has been taken for many reasons, like as general health and vitality, fatigue, immune function, cardiovascular disease, endocrine disorders, cognitive function, viral infections, and enhancing athletic performance. The following are three cases from our have practice.

Case 1: A generally healthy 28 year elderly female began suffering from stomach cramps and los of appetite approximately 6 month ago. Believing that she feeled from gastric ulcers, her doctor began treating her with a histamine-2 receptor antagonist for single month but her cramps were not relieved. Consequently she underwent a gastric endoscopy management to explore her digestive tract. In her stomach disease-causing bacteria was rest so she was placed upon antibiotics for several weeks. However, she still continued to experience from cramps for another month at which point she began taking American ginseng. Three to four days after taking the herb, she felt abundant better and her cramps stopped. Since that time she has been taking American ginseng, now for single month, and she no longer feels from stomach cramps, and believes that she is completely cured

Case 2: In the span of 6 month a 27 year advanced in years female suffering from indigestion point in disputes began losing weight, having insomnia and irregular menstrual periods Her visit to the doctor did not reveal any significant question at issues detectable by a physical exam, chest X-ray, and life-current tests including liver function ordeals One week after taking American ginseng, she began to rest regularly and her appetite get backed to normal. She is now taking American ginseng upon a regular basis and is feeling normal and healthy.

Case 3: A 53 year of advanced age male with a history of hypertension had been suffering from mild chest pains for 3 month He was diagnosed with early stage coronary artery disease on the other hand did not require surgery. His life-blood pressure was 155/95 mmHg. After taking American ginseng for 2 weeks, his chest pains disappeared. individual month after taking the herb regularly, his life-current pressure dropped to 145/85 mmHg He has been taking the herb for 5 month now and is doing fine.

The American ginseng used in the above cases was three-year base cultivated in a ginseng farm in Wausau, Wisconsin, and given at a daily dose of 2 grams. We modified and simplified the traditional Chinese process for taking ginseng. The following instructions were given to our patients: Each day soak approximately 2 grams of American ginseng foundation in cold water overnight. The following morning drink the frigid water in which the American ginseng was soaked in. Then, place the ginseng into a beaker and pour boiling water (approximately 150 mL) into the bowl Let it sit for 10 to 20 minutes and drink the water. Repeat pouring water above the ginseng and drink it 2-3 more times during the day. In the early evening, drink individual more cup of the boiled water, this time being certain to eat the ginseng root

American ginseng may posses consequences similar to Asian ginseng (Person 1986) However, based upon traditional Chinese medicine theory, Asian ginseng is contraindicated in cases of yin deficiency with heat signs, heat exces or in the absence of significant qi deficiency (Bensky and Gamble, 1993) individual of the advantages of American ginseng is that its usage is not limited to like conditions. American ginseng benefits the qi, generates fluids, and nourishes the yin, for yin deficiency with heat signs (Bensky and Gamble, 1993) This is single of the reasons that American ginseng has gained popularity.

Interestingly, there are differences in the pharmacological puissance of single species that is cultivated in sum of two units different locations. For example, in an animal experimental mould the activity of extracts from American ginseng cultivated in the U was significantly higher than that from the same species cultivated in China (Yuan et al., 1998) flat within the U.S., American ginseng's efficacy may be different in Wisconsin-cultivated and Illinois-cultivated ginseng, possibly to be paid to different ginsenoside profiles (Yuan et al., 2001)