By Robert Newman, LAc, Dean of Clinics at Emperor’s College Acupuncture Clinic
Missed Part 1 of this series on Ginseng? Check it out here.
Missed Part 2 of this series on Ginseng? Check it out here.
Part 3: Siberian Ginseng and American Ginseng Explained
So now that you’ve been introduced to some basic terms and ideas, let’s learn about the different types of Ginsengs. Ginsengs are tonics—depending on the type and the processing, they can tonify the Yang, the Qi, the Yin and/or the fluids. Common names that refer to the different types of Ginsengs are American Ginseng, Siberian Ginseng, and Asian Ginseng (red, white, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese).
Siberian Ginseng, Also Called “Eleuthero”
Robert Newman, LAc
Let’s start with Siberian Ginseng, also called “Russian Ginseng.” This name is still used by some sources to refer to this herb, but it is considered a misnomer now. The reason is that this herb is not actually botanically in the same genus as American and Asian Ginsengs, so it is felt that calling it a “Ginseng” is not accurate and is misleading. It is in the same family as the true Ginsengs and I include information about it here with the true Ginsengs because it is still commonly referred to as a Ginseng and it is considered an adaptogenic tonic herb like the true Ginsengs (an adaptogen is a substance that is supposed to help one withstand the effects of stress and function better in the face of stress, physically, emotionally, mentally).
The other name which is its current preferred, more correct name is “Eleuthero” or “Eleutherococcus,” which is based on one of its longstanding latin or scientific names in botany, Eleutherococcus senticosus (it is also called Acanthopanax senticosus). It is also misleading to call it Siberian Ginseng since it also grows in Northeastern China. Its name in Chinese medicine is Ci Wu Jia or Wu Jia Shen. There are quality issues with this herb since it sometimes can be sold with the wrong part of the plant being offered or material from a related (but not medicinally equivalent) plant being offered. So try to buy from a well-respected company rather than a drug store or some warehouse type of store that sells large quantities of products at a time.
Eleuthero: A Qi Tonic
Eleuthero is, according to Asian medicine, mainly a Qi tonic. It is a warming herb, but not as strongly warming as some of the red Asian Ginsengs–so this means it can be tolerated somewhat better by individuals who have too much heat in their systems. It tonifies the Qi of the digestive organs (“Spleen” and Stomach) and helps the Kidney Yang and Qi.
So this means it can help with problems such as low energy and poor stamina, weak and/or painful low back and knees, poor appetite, and reduced resistance. It also helps calm the spirit, so it can mildly assist with insomnia with excessive dreaming. Lastly, it has some mild benefit in helping circulate the blood in the extremities; so it can help with painful conditions in the arms and/or legs where the pain is a sharp, stabbing type of pain.
American Ginseng
The next Ginseng I will describe is American Ginseng. This is a plant that is native to North America. It is a forest plant that grows on forested mountainsides on the northern slopes in the eastern part of the continent. Its Latin name is Panax quinquefolius (Panax is the genus for true Ginsengs) and its typical name in Chinese medicine is Xi Yang Shen or Hua Qi Shen.
Very much in contrast with some of the forms of Asian Ginseng described below, this is a cooling herb that is mainly a Yin tonic. As such, this herb is considered more appropriate for patients with heat signs and Yin deficiency as opposed to someone with more cold or more Yang deficiency. It does have a mild Qi-tonifying function and it can be used to good benefit for patients who need mild Qi-strengthening in the summer time when the weather is very hot.
It is primarily used for generating fluids, tonifying the general Yin of the body, tonifying the Yin of the Lungs and clearing out strong heat in the Lungs. The symptoms associated with these imbalances that the American Ginseng can help to treat include: night sweats, chronic, low-grade fevers, damage to the Yin after illnesses with high fevers (with signs such as thirst, dry mouth, weakness, and irritability), wheezing, cough with blood and possibly yellow or green phlegm, and loss of voice.
Missed Part 1 of this series on Ginseng? Check it out here.
Missed Part 2 of this series on Ginseng? Check it out here.
Stay tuned for Part 4 of this series: “Asian Ginseng Explained”
Featured image adapted from the photograph “American Ginseng” by lahvak, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.