- Region
- North America
- Origin
- Deciduous forests of eastern North America
North America · Herb · № 160
Panax quinquefolius
Herb · North America
American ginseng
Panax quinquefolius
Chinese medicine regards it as more 'cooling' than Asian ginseng and uses it for fatigue and thirst. Some studies find a slight effect on post-meal blood sugar and colds; evidence is limited.
Safety notes
May interact with warfarin and diabetes medicines. The wild plant has become rare from overharvesting and is listed in CITES Appendix II.
Cautions by tradition (3)
- Chinese materia medica: Caution with a cold, damp stomach.
- Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) medicine: Choose cultivated; interacts with blood thinners and diabetes medication.
- Cherokee (Tsalagi) medicine: Not in pregnancy or with high blood pressure; wild ginseng is endangered, buy cultivated.
Preparation
The dried root as tea, slices or extract. No dosage is given here.
Use in traditions
Indigenous peoples used the root medicinally. In the 18th century a Jesuit found the plant in Canada, starting a large export trade to China that continues today. Ody describes how Chinese physicians adopted it into their own system.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Chinese materia medica
- Nature and taste
- sweet, slightly bitter, cool
- Meridians
- lung, heart, kidney, stomach
Attributed effects
Xi yang shen strengthens the qi, nourishes yin and body fluids and calms: in chronic cough, wasting diseases, mild afternoon fever and night sweats from yin deficiency, and fatigue in exhausting conditions.
Preparation and amount
Traditional dosage: 3–9 g a day, usually in a decoction. Unlike Chinese ginseng, which stimulates qi and yang, American ginseng nourishes blood and yin and slows the pace; this makes it more suitable for daily use. Rare from overharvesting: choose organic, forest-grown roots.
Caution: Caution with a cold, damp stomach.
Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) medicine
Attributed effects
For sore eyes, vomiting and poor appetite.
Preparation and amount
Let a small piece of root stand in a cup of water.
Caution: Choose cultivated; interacts with blood thinners and diabetes medication.
Cherokee (Tsalagi) medicine
Attributed effects
As a tonic, for headache, colic, cramps and dizziness, as an expectorant, for a weak womb and the nerves, and for thrush. In the nineteenth century the Cherokee sold large quantities of root to traders. Mooney recorded the name a'tali-guli, 'it climbs the mountain'.
Preparation and amount
Chew a piece of root, or make a tea of the root.
Caution: Not in pregnancy or with high blood pressure; wild ginseng is endangered, buy cultivated.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- Tea (infusion)Decoction
- Formulas
- Qing shu yi qi tang
Tags
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org
- Penelope Ody, The Complete Medicinal Herbal (1993; 2017)
- Michael & Lesley Tierra, Chinese Traditional Herbal Medicine, vol. II: Materia Medica and Herbal Resource (1998)
- James W. Herrick, Iroquois Medical Botany, ed. Dean R. Snow (1995)
- Paul B. Hamel & Mary U. Chiltoskey, Cherokee Plants and Their Uses: A 400 Year History (1975)