Asian Ginseng (Panax ginseng): Traditional Uses & Safety

At a glance

Botanical name: Panax ginseng
Family: Araliaceae
Part used: Root
Taste: Sweet, Bitter
Temperature: Warm
Moisture: Moist

On temperature, the old sources disagree: Shennong Bencao Jing (c. 200 CE) reads it as cold; Bencao Congxin (1757) reads it as warm. The app keeps warm, the modern reading of what the herb does in the body; the old readings are shown here but do not change it.

Safety at a glance

In pregnancy

Avoid

While breastfeeding

Avoid during breastfeeding — stimulating, transfer potential, and infant not appropriate recipient.

For children

Avoid under 12

Cautions

Avoid in Pitta/excess heat; hypertension; avoid stimulants; not for long-term unsupervised use

General contraindications

Avoid

Stewardship

Asian Ginseng (Panax ginseng) is cultivated in Korea, China, though wild mountain ginseng is rare and high-cost. Stewardship: the Confucian 'most precious herb' — the ethics of exclusivity ask: is medicine for the wealthy only?

In the traditional record

Asian Ginseng (Panax ginseng) — known as Ren Shen ("man root") for its anthropomorphic shape; classified in the Shennong Ben Cao Jing (Han dynasty) as a superior tonic of the highest grade, regarded as the foremost Qi-tonifying herb in Traditional Chinese Medicine for over two millennia.

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Educational use

The Apothecary is educational and does not constitute medical advice. Nothing here is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before changing what you take, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or managing a diagnosed condition.

On our sources

These entries draw on public-domain materia medica, most of it published before 1900, alongside a smaller number of modern reference works. Energetic qualities such as warming, cooling, drying and moistening are a traditional framework for describing how a plant behaves in the body, not a laboratory measurement. Where a period source states one, we cite it. Where none does, and for many North American herbs none exists, the value reflects modern herbal consensus rather than a historical text. When we cannot support a caution with real evidence, we say nothing rather than guess.