preparation. Old, wild, well-farmed roots are
most valued, while rootlets of cultivated plants
are considered the lowest grade. Powdered
ginseng currently imported from Korea for
use in cosmetics and health foods is probably
from the latter.
American ginseng does not undergo spe-
cial curing as Asian ginseng, and there are
considerably fewer grades, mostly separated
on the basis of ‘‘wild’’ or ‘‘cultivated.’’ The
international trade of American ginseng is
regulated under the provisions of the Con-
vention on International Trade in Endan-
gered Species (CITES), which regulates
trade through permit requirements for
imports, exports, and reexports of listed
species.6,7
Siberian ginseng is the dried root of
Eleutherococcus senticosus(Rupr. and Max-
im.) Maxim. It does not have a long history of
usage as Asian ginseng (or even American
ginseng), but it is reported to have similar
properties as Asian ginseng and is consequent-
ly gaining popularity in the United States and
Canada (seeeleuthero).8,9
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
Asian ginseng contains numerous saponins,
which are one of the major groups of active
constituents;8–16a trace of volatile oil consist-
ing mainly of the sesquiterpene hydrocarbons
panacene, panaxene, panaginsene, and ginsin-
sene;^17 sterols (e.g.,b-sitosterol and itsb-
glucoside); 8–32% starch;^18 7–9% ginseng
polysaccharides (panaxans A–U and pectin-
like polysaccharide PG-F 2 ) and pectin;19–23
free sugars (e.g., glucose, fructose, sucrose,
maltose, trisaccharides, etc.); pectin; vitamins
(e.g., vitamins B 1 ,B 2 , and Bl2, nicotinic acid,
pantothenic acid, and biotin); 0.1–0.2% cho-
line; fats; minerals (Zn, Cu, Mn, Ca, Fe, etc.);
polyacetylenes (e.g., panaxynol, panaxydol,
panaxydiol, and panaxytriol);24,25oligo- and
polypeptides;26,27 and others (JIANGSU;LIST
AND HO€RHAMMER).8,28
The saponins are called ginsenosides by
Japanese and panaxosides by Russian re-
searchers. There are at least 18 saponins found
in Asian ginseng, including ginsenosides R 0 ,
Rb2,Rb3,Rc,Rd,Re,Rf,Rf2,Rb3,R20-gluco-f,
Rg1, and Rg2, which are all triterpenoids.
Ginsenoside R 0 is an oleanane type; the rest
are all dammarane type. The sapogenin of
ginsenoside R 0 , is oleanolic acid, that of gin-
senosides Rb1to Rdis 20-S-protopanaxadiol,
and that of ginsenosides Reto Rg2, is 20-S-
protopanaxatriol. Ginsenosides Rb1,Rb2,Rc,
Re, and Rg1are present in major concentra-
tions in Asian ginseng.6,7Minor dammarane
saponines also present include koryoginseno-
side R 1 and R 2 in addition to ginsenoside
Rf2.29,30
American ginseng contains primarily gin-
senosides Rb1and Re; it does not contain
ginsenosides Rb2,Rf, and Rg2, and in some
instances Rg1.11,12The new ginsenoside Rg8
and quinquenosides I–V as well as some of
the known ones (ginsenosides Rf1,Rf4,Rh1,
Rg2, and Rh1) have also been reported in
American ginseng.24,31Prized American gin-
seng contains a high ratio of ginsenosides Rb1
to Rg1. Other dammarane-type triterpenes
present include chikusetsusaponin IVa, pseu-
doginsenoside Rc1, and notoginsenosides
A–C.^24
Six panaxosides (A, B, C, D, E, and F) have
been reported, with panaxosides A, B, and C
having panaxatriol as their sapogenin and the
sapogenin of panaxosides D, E, and F being
panaxadiol.8,9Since the genuine aglycones
reported for ginsenosides are 20-S-protopa-
naxadiol and 20-S-protopanaxatriol, they are
most likely the sapogenins of panaxosides
also.15,16 Panaxoside A is reported to be
the same as ginsenoside Rg-1 (LIST AND
HO€RHAMMER).
Ginseng herb oil (P. ginseng) has been
reported to contain sesquiterpenes, including
bicyclogermacrene,a- andb-panasinsenes,
caryophyllene,a- andb-humulenes,a- and
b-neoclovenes,b-farnesene, anda-,b-, and
g-selinenes.^32
A study showed that highest yields of gin-
senosides were obtained at the end of summer
of the fifth year; the root doubles in weight
between the fourth and fifth years.^33Ginseng (Asian and American) 331