Ginseng for Energy

If you've every had an energy drink, you've probably experienced the hyping-up effects of ginseng.

Panax ginseng and its active constituents, ginsenosides, have been used for thousands of years for its adaptogenic benefits. It has shown positive results in physical stress, aging, memory and cognition, diabetes, cancers, heart disease, hepatitis, peptic ulcers, aplastic anemia, atherosclerosis, fatigue, immune health, and athletic performance.

• White ginseng, or Radix ginseng, is made by collecting the root of Panax ginseng in the fall, washing and removing the rhizomes, and drying it in the sun. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), it is used for weakness, irritability, insomnia, faintness, loss of appetite due to diminished spleen function, lung ailments, thirst, diabetes, and heart failure. 
• Red ginseng (Radix Ginseng Rubra) is the steamed raw root of Panax ginseng at 98 – 100 degrees Celsius for two to three hours, after which it is tried. TCM uses red ginseng for asthenia, weakness, bleeding, and heart failure. The concentration of ginsenosides are slightly higher in white ginseng than red, but the content in ginseng preparations can vary.

Ginseng is considered an actoprotector, a type of adaptogen that increases mental and physical performance without increasing oxygen consumption. Studies in both human and animals have shown that Panax ginseng extract “can significantly increase physical and intellectual work capacity”, but “results related to the influence of ginseng on physical performance are more controversial than those connected with its influence on intellectual work capacity” (Oliynyk & Oh, 2013).

Blumenthal, M., Brinckmann, J., & Wollschlaeger, B. (2003). The ABC Clinic Guide to Herbs (pp. 211 - 225). Austin, Tex.: American Botanical Council.

Oliynyk, S., & Oh, S. (2013). Actoprotective effect of ginseng: improving mental and physical performance. Journal Of Ginseng Research, 37(2), 144-166. http://dx.doi.org/10.5142/jgr.2013.37.144