Panax ginseng Root Identity & Plant Part
The botanical entity is Panax ginseng C.A.Mey., called Asian, Korean or Chinese ginseng. The part used is the root in its plain dried form, not the steamed red form, taken from a perennial that is grown for several seasons before harvest. The English word ginseng comes from the Chinese renshen, “man root”, a nod to the branched, human-like shape of the mature root. Leaves, stems, fruit and flower buds are not included in this ginseng extract.
Several plants are traded under the word “ginseng”. Panax quinquefolius is American ginseng, Panax notoginseng is sanqi, and Eleutherococcus senticosus, sold as Siberian ginseng, belongs to a different genus altogether.
The constituent families of the root are dammarane-type triterpene saponins called ginsenosides, polysaccharides and starch, with a small volatile fraction dominated by sesquiterpenes.












