Perhaps no other herb of the Chinese pharmacopoeia has received as much attention and fame as the one with the man shaped root known as "Ginseng" (in Chinese, "ren shen"). Its invigorating and rejuvenating properties have been attested to in the West as well as the East. Many more people have, in the last few years, begun including this herb in their nutritional regimen. Exactly what are the facts on this remarkable substance, is it panacea or placebo? Let's look a little closer.

Panax qinsenq & Panax quinquefolium are two species of the ginseng plant. The herb grows to a height of about 60 centimeters (around two feet) and belongs to the Araliaceae family. Gin (ren in Chinese) refers to man/human and the seng (shen) part refers to "containing much nourishment". The dried root, Radix ginseng is used medicinally for several conditions. The most common condition for which ginseng is prescribed is lack of vital energy (qi/ch'i).

The plant grows very slowly and requires a cool shady climate. It grows best in China, Korea, and Japan. Ginseng also grows wild in some parts of North America. Indeed, it has been said that the best type is the wild type with roots which are several years old.