Ginseng (Herbal Medicine)

Ginseng is one of the most popular traditional herbal medicines in the world, but it is perhaps most famous for being known as a traditional Chinese herbal medicine or remedy. The English word “ginseng” derives from the Chinese term rénshēn, where rén means “person” and shēn means “plant root.” The name for the plant likely came from the observation that the root, which is forked at the bottom, resembles a man. According to the modern biological taxonomic classification system, ginseng falls within the family name Araliaceae and genus name Panax. The genus name Panax means “all-heal” in Greek and it shares the same origin as “panacea.” Carolus Linnaeus (1707–1778), credited as the father of modern taxonomy, was aware of the widespread use of ginseng as ...