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Ginseng, King of the Herbal Remedies

Since ancient times, ginseng has been used as costly herbal medicine able to nourish and strengthen the body. It is considered the king of the herbal remedies in traditional Chinese medicine, and is considered to be effective against all symptoms. Ginseng's Latin name-"Panax"-implies that it is a panacea able to treat all diseases. In recent years, ginseng has been classified as an "adaptogen," which is a modern concept proposed by the Soviet scientists N.V. Lazarev and I.I. Brekhman, who believed that these substances could boost the existing resistance of living organisms and strengthen organisms. The Japanese physician Dr. Kenji Kawamura points out in books on ginseng that, according to pharmacological analysis, ginseng can effectively enhance the nonspecific resistance of living organisms, and is a typical adaptogen. In his writings, Kawamura suggests that because ginseng contains active components that include ginsenosides and alkaloids, it can promote recovery after healing and increase physical strength, which make ginseng an optimal adaptogen for humans.
Ginseng in Wikipedia

The Chinese fondness for ginseng has deep historical roots, and many of the classic works of traditional Chinese medicine, such as the Compendium of Materia Medica, Collected Medicines, and Record of Differentiation of Symptoms and Signs state that ginseng is one of the greatest of medicines. In 1854, Garriques first analyzed the chemical composition of ginseng and its homologs, and extensive chemical, biochemical, and pharmacological research has been performed on ginseng from that time on. The chemical substances that have been found in ginseng thus far chiefly include triterpenoid saponins, polyolefin alkynes, sesquiterpenes, flavonoids, dencichine, polyamines, and polysaccharides. Of these, ginsenosides are the main active components, and recent scientific research has proven that many of the pharmacological functions of ginseng are due to the presence of its ginsenoside active components.

What are Ginsenosides?

Ginsenoside (ginseng saponins) is a general term for saponins extracted from ginseng and other plants in the same genus (such as Sanchi and Western ginseng, etc.). Ginsenosides constitute triterpenoid saponins, and are the chief active components in ginseng. More than 60 types of ginsenosides have been extracted from ginseng, and some of these ginsenosides have been shown to possess far-reaching physiological functions and great medicinal value. Ginsenosides chiefly exist in the phloem of the ginseng plant, with a ginsenoside content of 3.5~5.5% in the main body of the plant, 4.0~6.0% in the lateral roots, 7.6~9.6% in the rhizome, and 8.0~8.8% in the fibrous roots.

From a structural perspective, ginsenosides are small molecular compounds with biological activity that are derived from the glycosylation of saponins. For their part, saponins refer to natural compounds containing one or more glucoside moieties and a aglycone, and belongs to natural glycoside compounds. Because compounds of this type tend to make foam when mixed with water, they are referred to as saponins. Ginsenoside saponins can be classified as three types, namely the dammarane saponins panaxatriol and protopanaxadiol, oleanane saponins, and ocotillol saponins. In recent years, the new saponins 25-OH-PPD and 25-OCH3-PPD have been extracted from Sanqi, and it has been found after experiments that these new saponins possess excellent functional adjustment characteristics.
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Ginsenoside Names and Their Structures

Ginsenoside are named in alphabetical order in accordance with their solubility in water. The most water soluble (polar) ginsenosides such as Ra, Rb, and Rc come first, and are followed by such poorly water soluble ginsenosides as Rg and Rh. The solubility of ginsenosides in water depends on the number of sugar groups forming the gylcoside group; the more sugar groups on the non-sugar group, the greater the ginsenoside's solubility in water. For example, the ginsenosides Ra, Rb, and Rc contain three or four sugar groups bound to their non-sugar group, and have good solubility in water. In contrast, the ginsenosides Rg and Rh have only one sugar group, and are poorly soluble in water. When the non-sugar portion of the molecule has no sugar groups, then it constitutes a sapogenin, and is almost insoluble in water. Sapogenins include protopanaxadiol (PPD) and protopanaxatriol (PPT). The sugar groups bonded to a sapogenin may include glucose, arabinose, or rhamose, which will form different ginsenosides.