Unit 18 : The Ginseng Shop

Telephone contact numbers: 076 264 451 / 2

SOME BACKGROUND ON GINSENG
Highly prized by Asian cultures as an aphrodisiac and a cure for everything from impotence to lack of concentration, Ginseng relieves fatigue, mental and nervous exhaustion.

The Chinese have always placed a high value on Ginseng and millions have used it for centuries. The first written record of its use can be found in a Chinese Herbal dated in the 1st Century B.C.

This Chinese Herbal, Shen-nung pen ts'ao ching, was surely preceded by a long verbal history of ginseng for in ancient China, where Ginseng was always held in the highest esteem as a powerful drug (5).

History shows that early Chinese emperors placed great value in Ginseng. Early emperors proclaimed its roots as having many uses, primarily as a tonic or stimulant for both physical and mental disorders. In addition, it was used for increasing fertility and sexuality, and most importantly for strengthening the body. In fact, Ginseng was so esteemed as a botanical drug that it was an important trade commodity, at times serving as payment for ransom and as payments of tribute to the Chinese government.

With respect to distribution P. ginseng, Asian ginseng, is native of Manchuria and Korea and presently cultivated in Korea and Japan.