Panax ginseng : The miracle of a plant

Panax ginseng is a plant which belongs to the Araliaceae family and is a slow growing perennial plant with fleshy roots. The genus Panax means "all-heal" in Greek, sharing its origin with "panacea" and was named so becuase of its well known and wide use as in Chinsese medicine as a muscle relaxant. Panax ginseng should not be confused with American ginseng, Siberian ginseng, or Panax pseudoginseng. Strangely, ginseng grows only in the northern hemisphere- in the cooler climates.

The name ginseng is derived from the chinese term rénshēn where rén means "man" and shēn means a kind of herb; this refers to the root's characteristic forked shape, which resembles the legs of a man.

Fresh or dried root of ginseng is used for various therapeutic reasons. Some of these uses are as follows :

• Internal use
  • To improve mood, physical & intellectual performance.
  • In case of lack of appetite, stress, insomnia, chronic illness.
  • Helps men with impotence and sexual problems, and is a good general tonic.
  • Promotes vasodilatation, and also act as an anxiolytic as well as antidepressant.
  • Effective in stimulating learning, memory, and physical capabilities 
  • Supporting radioprotection, providing resistance to infection and having excellent antioxidant and anti-fatigue effects.
  • It is also used to enhance energy metabolism and reducing cholesterol and triglycerides while elevating HDL levels.
•   External use
  • Used in cosmetics for its rejuvenating properties.
  • Beneficial effect on circulation and the plant regulates the tone of the smooth muscles of the blood vessels.
  • This vast amount of properties give Ginseng an almost unlimited use in cosmetics. Its activity makes it useful in nourishing creams, in treating wrinkled and aged skin and in all cosmetic products used to retard the onset of age.
  • In body milks and bath products, Ginseng acts by optimizing the cutaneous metabolism of the whole body and in capillary products, Ginseng may be used in treatment products for weak hair and lotions for preventing hair loss as it stimulates growth and gives strength.