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Korea Insam (Ginseng) |
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 Korean ginseng, a medicinal herb, naturally exists in only three
regions: "Korea"(33.7-43.1), "Manchuria"(43-47), and the
Littoral province of Siberia. The Korean peninsula is the best
place to grow ginseng, because ginseng has stringent
requirements for the plant's growth, and Korea has the ideal
temperature zone, plenty of rain in the summer, proper coldness
in the winter, etc. The value of Korean ginseng has been known
in the world since the 4th century B. C. Books written in this
era documented ginseng as emergent medicine and tonic for
long-life. Ginseng was first mentioned as a tonic as early as
48-33 B. C. in Interpretation of Creatures written by You Shi of
ancient China. Moreover, Shen Nung Pen-Ts'ao-ching, the worlds
oldest extant Chinese medicinal book, described the quality and
production area of ginseng, medicinal effects of ginseng, and
showed that high quality ginseng mainly came from the Korean
kingdom of Kokuryo. Russian botanist C. A. Meyer named it panax
ginseng in 1843. The genus name, panax means cure all in Greek(
pan meaning all, Axos meaning heal ), therefore, true ginseng
means Korean ginseng. |
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What is so special about Korea Insam? |
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Korea Insam is not only a species different from those of
American ginseng or Chinese Sanchi ginseng, but is grown in an
optimal geographical environment and climatic conditions
suitable for the growth of superior quality ginseng. The
latitudinal ranges in which the majority of KOREA INSAM farming
is carried out extends from 36° to 38° north, where the growing
period (180 days) is longer than other areas (120 to 130 days),
which is instrumental to the harder and denser development of
internal tissues and the safekeeping of innate flavor.
According to "Zhongcao Yaoxue (Chinese herbal pharmacy),"
ginseng possesses the properties of invigorating physical power,
regulating the condition of spleen and relaxing stresses on
heart. The "Shennong Bencaojing" defines that ginseng is the
primary medicine to be administered for promoting vitality of
the five viscera (liver, heart, lungs, kidney and spleen), and
that it helps restore composure, removes causes of illness to
the five viscera, improves eyesight, promotes wisdom, quiets
nerves and promotes longevity when consumed over a prolonged
period of time. The "Bencao Gangmu" further expands the efficacy
of ginseng. Its theory is widely applied today in dealing with
clinical symptoms using ginseng. The efficacy and applications
of ginseng are also described in many other journals of Oriental
medicine, which rate ginseng as a master medicine playing the
major role in prescriptions. A master medicine is a herbal
medicine which people usually take under normal conditions to
safeguard themselves from possible contracting of diseases and
to maintain their health. It is free of toxicity or harm, even
when taken in large amounts or over a prolonged period of time. |
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Characteristics of ginsengs from
various sources |
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Korean Insam |
Grown
in Korea (human body shape) |
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American ginseng |
Grown
in U.S.A. or Canada (column shape) |
| Sanchi
ginseng |
Grown
in southern parts of China: Yunnan and Chinagshi
provinces (small carrot shape) |
| Bamboo
ginseng |
Autogenous ginseng in Japan (bamboo root shape) |
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What kinds of ingredient does KOREA INSAM
contain? |
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 Ginseng contains saponin, an element of glycosides; nitrogenous
compounds such as protein, amino acid, nucleic acid and
alkaloid; fat-soluble ingredients such as fatty acid, ethereal
oil, polyacetylene, phenolic compound, phytosterol and terpenoid;
saccharides such as monose, oligosaccharide, polysaccharide and
pectin; vitamins and inorganic substances; and many other useful
ingredients. Thus, ginseng contains an abundance of diversified
chemical elements hardly found in other medicinal herbs. |
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What is saponin? |
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The name "saponin" was awarded because the substance generates
fine foams just like soap when dissolved in water. Ordinary
saponin lowers the surface tension of water and readily
generates foams, exhibiting hematolytic effects. It has been
proven that the medical property of ginseng saponin is mild and
has no toxicity, seldom having hematolytic effects. Further, the
chemical structure of ginseng saponin is completely different
from those found in other herbs. Thus, for the purpose of
differentiating ginseng saponin from those of other vegetables,
it is called "ginsenoside," which refers to "ginseng glycoside."
A more scientific study classifies ginseng saponins into three
groups according to their chemical structures: protopanaxadiol
(PD), protopanaxatriol (PT) and oleanolic acid (See Figure 1).
Majority of saponins existing in vegetable kingdom is of
oleanane family, while ginseng saponin is known to be of
triterpenoid saponin, a family of dammarane, which is rarely
seen in other herbs.
Major medical actions of ginsenosides Ginseng saponin exhibits
diversified effects in regulating physical functions by
influencing endocrimium, central nervous system, immune system
and metabolic system. Of the more than 30 different ginsenosides
contained in KOREA INSAM, more than ten individual ginsenosides
have been proven for their medical actions. These ginsenosides
exhibit similar or opposite properties. Thus, ingredients akin
or dissimilar to each other in terms of properties coexist in
KOREA INSAM. For example, ginsenoside-Rb1, a typical PD family
saponin, exhibits inhibitive function to CNS (central nervous
system) while ginsenoside-Rg1, a typical PT family saponin,
exhibits excitative function. These ingredients, however, are
believed to be exhibiting no antagonism against each other. |
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Efficacy of Korea red ginseng
substantiated by scientific research |
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 Controls
diabetes mellitus
Normalizes
blood pressure and prevents atherosclerosis
Helps
prevent cancer development
Strengthens
the immune system and works as a cancer adjunctive
Improves
sexual stamina
Enhances
brain activity benefiting the psycho - neurological system
Protects
the liver and detoxifies alcohol
Utility
as an adjunctive against chronic disease
Improves
post-menopausal disorders
Counteracts
fatigue / improves physical endurance
Confronts
endocrine disruptor / tonic effect |
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-The most important invigorating medicine
that is primarily used to restore energy (or gi).
"Gi" (energy) is hard to be described in western medical terms,
yet can be conveniently translated as physiological conditioning
functions of various organs of human body, or vital energy of
life.
Gi-infirmity denotes a condition in which such physiological
function is retarded.
-Korea Insam does not normally raise body
temperature.
Korea insam (ingredients) is not a pyrogenetic material (pyrogen).
No change in body temperature is observed from regular doses
(50-100 mg/kg), but rather a drop in body temperature is
observed from large doses (200 mg/kg) (reported by Prof.
Bhargava of Illinois University, Chicago, U.S.A. in 1990).
-Improves thermophile condition disorders.
Professors Fujimoto and Oita of Medical College, Kyushu
University, Japan, empirically proved that a KOREA INSAM
ingredient (G-Rg1) functions as a buffer against thermophile
disorders.
*When a test animal is exposed to thermophile conditions, both
food ingestion and weight decrease. Water intake increases while
physical activity level drops. These phenomena are similar to
those of patients suffering from heatstroke.
*Administration of KOREA INSAM (ingredients) is said to show
effectiveness in maintaining normal body temperature and to work
as a buffer against thermophile disorders for the test animals.
*This empirical results fairly support the efficacy of
ginseng-chicken broth, a popular traditional Korean food favored
by people especially in summer to recover from poor appetite and
restore vitality.
-Blood circulation improvement.
- Both Oriental and Western medicines accept the invigorating
property as the primary efficacy of ginseng.
*Invigorating property is usually understood to promote blood
circulation and thus facilitate metabolism by warming up the
body, and not the other way around, to subsequently maintain the
homeostasis of human body.
The mild medicinal property of KOREA INSAM is believed to
promote blood circulation, which in turn facilitates the supply
of oxygen and nutrients to tissues of various organs, and to
keep the body in optimally warm state.
KOREA INSAM (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) is the only ginseng among
ginseng species, which EU countries, including Germany, have
officially acknowledged and listed as a tonic in their
pharmacopoeia. No American ginseng or Chinese Sanchi ginseng has
been acknowledged as such.
-Normalizes physical functions.
Physical control systems are broadly divided into *nervous
system,
*endocrine system and *immune system, which are closely
interrelated. If the homeostasis of these three control systems
is harassed, a physical function disorder occurs, which leads to
a disease if it becomes serious. An abundance of studies on
KOREA INSAM have found that it has a positive effect on physical
control systems.
Earlier, world-reputed Russian pharmacologist Brekhmann (1969)
asserted so-called "Adaptogen theory", which claims that ginseng
normalizes abnormal physical conditions in a nonspecific way
when the body is confronted with various harmful influences from
outside.
*The theory has since been endorsed by many empirical and
clinical studies on KOREA INSAM.
Specifically, KOREA INSAM is said to generate greater effects
when a distorted influence is applied to an organism under
unphysiological conditions rather than under normal conditions. |
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