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Chinese Ginseng is Ideal Tonic

2009-2-10 15:30:00

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Chinese ginseng

Ginseng, reputedly known as the "king of hundred herbs", has been regarded as the ideal tonic since ancient times. Ginseng today is either collected from the wilderness or cultivated. Ginseng also has a predominated role in traditional Chinese medicial treatment.

The Changbai Mountains in northeast China produces the best wild ginseng. It generally takes several decades or even more than a century to grow up. The Changbai mountains in Fusong County, Jilin Province, made the headline in 1981 when a rare mountain ginseng, 287.5gram in weight and 54cm in length, was dug up from a local forest-believed to have been there for more than a century, it is regarded as a most precious treasure.

Wild ginseng is difficult to come by today, and it is too expensive to meet the market demand. Thus the Chinese started cultivating genseng some decades ago.

The medicinal value of ginseng was very early recognized by chinese ancestors. Sheng Nong's Herbal Classic, the earliest medicinal book in China, says Ginseng is efficacious for strengthening the heart, stabilizing the nerve system, stopping shock, improving intelligence, and extending the life span. In his Copendium of Materia Medica, the celebrated Ming-dynasty herbalist Li Shizhen pointed out that ginseng is highly effective in replenishing the human body's vitality, making the old look young, and saving life from the brink of death. All in all, ginseng is an ideal tonic.