Ginseng? The little plant with roots prized by Asians as an aphrodisiac, a sort of an herbal Viagra.Turnpike officials paid Raymond Rybar Jr., a Washington County herbalist and metals artisan, for his home-grown ginseng plants,

Ginseng on the up and McMaster team finds chemical in root that can alleviate ‘erectile dysfunction’ Four undergraduate students at Hamilton’s McMaster University, three of them women, have helped prove scientifically that one of the most stubbornly durable “myths” of ancient medicine is probably true: ginseng is good for men’s sex life.Under chemistry professor Russell Bell, the students conducted a two-stage experiment that showed that the type of steroid compound called saponin in ginseng ( Panax) is a vaso-dilator dilator.

Ginseng Poaching on Rise in Virginia Economic problems lead illegal harvesters into state’s woods Prices are up, wages are down and it sounds like nothing but trouble in the Middle East. With things going from bad to worse, who could be surprised that ginseng poaching is on the rise?Here in the mountains of western Virginia, legal and illegal hunting of ginseng – the bitter root coveted for its legendary recuperative and aphrodisiac powers – is thriving like rarely before.The main reason, according to hunters and state officials, is the nation’s weakening economy….

GINSENG BUSINESS TOUGH TO TAKE ROOT Summary: Clark County’s few growers of the popular herb cope with a long maturation and wide price swings Out on Northeast 10th Avenue north of the Clark County Fairgrounds, a giant ginseng root floats in a tank of vodka.A legendary product purported to increase energy and stamina, ginseng as an agricultural crop in Clark County has experienced dizzying ups and downs.”

Tracing the history and mystery of ginseng — in the Midwest? Here’s a little gem of a book, detailing America’s oldest, richest export. We’ve been shipping ginseng to the Far East for 300 years now. Daniel Boone trafficked in it. Panax quinquefolius was early recognized as a sovereign remedy. In 1728, a Virginia surveyor named William Byrd wrote, “Its vertues are that it gives an uncommon warmth and vigor to the blood, and frisks the spirit, beyond any other cordial.

PRICEY ROOT GINSENG, BELOVED IN ORIENT, IS HUNTED IN PA. BACKWOODS Fur trapper Ed Danko scours the backwoods of southwestern Pennsylvania in search of ginseng, a wild root that fetches $125 a pound and is valued as a cure-all in some parts of the world.But to get 1 pound, the 66-year-old Danko must dig up 350 plants and walk five to 10 miles over rugged, snake-infested terrain.”It isn’t a lazy man’s job. You’d better have a good set of legs. You’ve got to get back in the remote areas.

Deer could wipe out wild American ginseng, biologist says White-tailed deer have become so abundant in the eastern United States that their voracious appetites threaten the extinction of a beloved wild herb, American ginseng, researchers said Thursday. Deer munch the tops of the ginseng plants, causing the roots to die, the researchers say.The loss of ginseng, widely known for its supposed medicinal qualities, would wipe out the harvest and trade of the wild plant — a practice deeply rooted in the culture and economy of central and southern…

FORAGERS GRUB FOR GINSENG GOLD RISING PRICE OF HERB DRAWS WOODSMEN TO OHIO FORESTS A mysterious plant with mystical prowess has sparked a gold rush on the shadiest slopes of Ohio’s deepest woods.Foragers are grubbing for wild ginseng, a bashful little herb that hides in the unsettled forests of Appalachia. The roots are a cash crop worth nearly their weight in gold.Traders pay up to $400 a pound for dried wild ginseng that usually winds up in China – all cash, few questions asked.

KOREANS PUT FAITH IN GINSENG FABLED ROOT TAKES 17 YEARS TO MATURE For most of his 80 years, Lee Bong-hee has roamed dark regions of Korea’s tough hills, looking for shady, rocky patches suitable for planting ginseng.The root is fabled in Asia for its ability to promote health and vitality, but it is a tough crop to grow “

Ginseng – Americans cash in on ancient Chinese cure-all It’s said to pep you up, calm you down and cure everything from indigestion to infertility. It’s ginseng, a small plant that’s big business.Last year the American farm-grown variety of the aromatic root brought nearly $50 million into Wisconsin, where it is a leading cash crop.Ginseng’s mystique dates back at least 5,000 years. Chinese Emperor Shen-ung praised its healing powers in a book on herbal medicine.

Spa taps into B.C.’s gold mine of ginseng root The terry slippers and the soothing sound of water rolling down the marble-walled entranceway of Sunmore Ginseng Spa are meant as a respite for the tour-bus crowd on their long trek from Vancouver to Canada’s famed Banff and Lake Louise.So is the Chinese tea house in this odd oasis of calm on the industrial-park outskirts of this British Columbia ranching community.And the tour buses have been coming – packed with about 85,000 tourists a year, most of them Asians

TAGGING OF GINSENG AIMS TO DISCOURAGE WOULD-BE POACHERS HIGHLANDS – In an attempt to stymie poachers, the U.S. Forest Service is using dye and microchips to tag wild ginseng in areas where it is illegal to collect the plant.Federal and state officials, worried that the medicinal plant may be harvested out of existence, have in recent years stepped up their efforts against ginseng thieves.This is the first time the U.S. Forest Service has used a marking program, which has proved successful in nabbing poachers along the Blue Ridge Parkway..

GINSENG PRICES SOAR, PROMPTING FEARS PIKEVILLE, Ky. — Ginseng? KA-CHING!The wild root revered in Southeast Asia is fetching up to $500 a pound this year for the best grades, more than twice last year’s wholesale price.”It’s higher this year than it’s ever been,” said Tim Brown, manager of Wilcox Natural Products in Pikeville.That has some worried about the future of Panax quinquefolium, the five-fingered plant Appalachians call “green… Purchase Complete Article, of 600 words 55. Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA) – November 30, 1995 GINSENG PRICES SOAR, PROMPTING FEARS PIKEVILLE, Ky. — Ginseng? KA-CHING!The wild root revered in Southeast Asia is fetching up to $500 a pound this year for the best grades, more than twice last year’s wholesale price.”It’s higher this year than it’s ever been,” said Tim Brown, manager of Wilcox Natural Products in Pikeville.That has some worried about the future of Panax quinquefolium

Ginseng finds market in Far East China looks to Georgia for new supply of herb SUCHES, Ga. – Doyle Helton has as unlikely a garden and crop as any gardener in Georgia. He farms ginseng.On the slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains and under the white pines and poplars that tower over 100 feet high, the 62-year-old mountain man cultivates the perennial native herb.From here, the highest community in the state at 3,741 feet, Helton will take his ginseng to Hiawassee, the first leg on a long trip to China.For centuries Oriental countries, especially China, have.

GINSENG DIGGERS ROOT FOR HIGHER PRICES A large yellow wooden sign marks Ferguson’s Store, just outside Natural Bridge.”We buy raw furs, hides, ginseng, scrap metal,” it reads.Inside, dried ginseng hangs from nails in the concrete-block walls, and ginseng ginger ale is kept cold inside a cooler.

Ginseng tea can boost your energy, ginseng gum can boost your libido. Ginseng can even sharpen the mind, or so the claim goes.Since herbal supplements have gone mainstream in the past decade, ginseng consistently has been one of the most popular, with reported sales of more than $62-million a year.But a new study suggests that may be money down the drain.Researchers in Oregon and Michigan examined the mood-boosting..

There’s a new cash crop in Clark County that one official says could become important to the economy of Southwest Washington.The crop is ginseng, a slow-growing root used as an ingredient in consumer products ranging from gum to iced tea, as well as the mystical potion in nutritional supplements popular in Asia.Quality ginseng root commands a high market price, making it a potential good source of income for small landowners, says Charles Brun, horticulturist for…

Rooted in tradition Ginseng gatherers fretting over proposed ban CISCO, Ga. – As both folk medicine and an export to Asia, ginseng is an autumn tradition in Appalachia dating to pioneer days. The root, prized for its purported health benefits, is still harvested for export to Chinese and Korean markets that seem to favor American ginseng – Panax quinquefolium – over varieties grown in those countries. However, ginseng gatherers are worried because the U.S. Forest Service is considering a temporary harvest ban in the Chattahoochee National Forest to determine…

Ah, the Tonic of Ginseng! Especially a $65,000 Sprig! A roadside restaurant here was abuzz one recent morning with talk of a $65,000 ginseng plant.The restaurant’s only customers, a small group of ginseng seekers, had assembled for a breakfast of tofu soup before driving off to a nearby mountain that they planned to scour for the sought-after plant. Armies of ginseng seekers forage in South Korea’s thickly forested mountains where wild ginseng is sometimes found; as mountains are regarded as holy places.

EXPERT ROOTS FOR GINSENG AT BOONVILLE One billion people can’t be wrong, an expert on ginseng told 30 potential north country ginseng growers Wednesday night.The root – exotic and expensive, mystical and medicinal – is said to boost virility and desire. The Chinese have used it for millenia, and, as Cooperative Extension agent Robert L. Beyfuss said, It’s hard to believe there’s nothing to it. There are a heck of a lot more Chinese than there are…

Getting to the root of ginseng For more than 3,000 years, the root of the perennial herb ginseng has been a key element in Asian medicine. It has also found its way into the kitchen.There are two varieties: panax, or Asian ginseng, and panax quinquefolius, American ginseng.In Asian culture, it’s believed that Asian ginseng has a heating effect of “yang,” while American ginseng has a cooling effect of “yin.”The proper use of both is believed to bring… Purchase Complete Article, of 277 words 46. Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News – December 22, 2003 South Korean Ginseng Products Firm Considers Thailand Dec. 22 South Korea’s Il Hwa Co, the world’s top producer of ginseng-based products, is pondering a 320-million-baht investment to set up a plant in Thailand

– Ginseng, that mysterious root of supposed vitality and health, promises riches and mystical powers for those willing to plunge into the darkest corners of Appalachia’s toughest terrain “The weedier, the snakier-looking place you can get into is where you will find the ginseng,” says Jack Baisden, a ginseng buyer in Verdunville. “It’s in deep, dark hills, back in the hollows.

Mr. Lockwood, 51, a ginseng hunter and dealer, is not sure what there will be for the boy to harvest.The data about wild ginseng, a protected species, is sketchy. Chemical analysis of ginseng medicinal herb shows varying concentrations of medicinal components, Researcher getting to the root of ginseng The chemical composition and medicinal virtues of ginseng, an ancient Asian herbal remedy and tonic, vary widely depending on variables such as the plant’s age and environment of growth and the inherent characteristics of the species.At the University of Guelph, a research scientist has found that ginseng’s concentration of major medicinal components (ginsenosides) differ by as much as 50 per cent.

Health, wealth seen in ginseng, Crop taking root in north Health, wealth seen in ginseng Crop taking root in north PLEASANT HILL, Ore. -

Stalking the wild root/Mysterious ginseng means cash for West Virginia hunters CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Ginseng, that mysterious root of supposed vitality and health, promises riches and mystical powers for those willing to plunge into the darkest corners of Appalachia’s toughest terrain “The weedier, the snakier-looking place you can get into is where you will find the ginseng,” says Jack Baisden, a ginseng buyer in Verdunville.

GINSENG FARMERS TRY TO ROOT OUT CHEAP STUFF Two hundred Wisconsin ginseng farmers descended Thursday on Chinatown to protest how the plant’s roots, best known for reportedly enhancing sexual stamina, are being sold.”We suspect they’re selling `China White’ as our Wisconsin ginseng,” said Ron Rambadt, a grower and executive director of the Ginseng Board of Wisconsin, referring to a tiny herbal store

GINSENG POACHING IS UP OFFICIALS SAY HARD TIMES AT THE ROOT OF PROBLEM A sign of tough times: Ginseng poaching is on the rise.At least that’s how Gene Parker with the National Park Service sees it. Since May, his park rangers have charged eight people with poaching the prized plant root along the Blue Ridge Parkway.Two of those people were caught over the weekend.Ginseng poaching is nothing new. Parker said he has busted poachers along the parkway for years. Ginseng root fetches as much as $300 per pound on the export market.

Feds’ ginseng report could reduce harvest Aug. 17 The upcoming West Virginia ginseng-digging season, already shortened 15 days because of recent legislative action, faces another possible regulatory hurdle from the federal government.A new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service analysis of the sustainability of the nation’s wild ginseng harvest concludes that plants dug for export should be at least 10 years old or have four or more leaf prongs in order to prevent a major decline in the oft-sought root.

Ginseng: Rooted in Asian Medicine THE PRODUCT AND WHAT IT’S MARKETED FOR: Ginseng is one of the most popular herbs in the United States. In 2000, it accounted for more than $62.5 million in U.S. sales, according to the “ABC Clinical Guide to Herbs” (American Botanical Council, $49.95), ranking it second in total sales for food, drug and mass market retail stores. More than 6 million Americans use ginseng regularly.

ginseng has been a staple of Chinese herbal medicine. Now the plant is gaining popularity in health food stores across the U.S.”The herb is an adaptogen,” said Zedrick Clark, supplements manager for Healthy Alternative natural food store in Florence. “It allows the body to adapt to stress.”How exactly the herb works is unclear. Chris Kring, the ginseng program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, said

American ginseng has been referred to as the Green Gold of Ohio’s Woodlands — and wherever there’s gold, there’s going to be diggers, a number of them representing the ever-thriving black market.Moreover, ginseng is one of the most coveted herbs in the world, particularly in the Far East, and its use is believed to reach back for possibly 4,000 years.Naturally, as the demand for ginseng has grown, so have the temptations to dig it illegally and..

GINSENG FARMERS HAULED TO COURT OVER PESTICIDE USE< ONE GROWER SAYS PROBE UNFAIR Wisconsin-grown ginseng — an exotic root prized for its medicinal value — may not be as pure as health food store customers expect.State regulators have uncovered widespread use of illegal pesticides in the cultivation of the roots marketed for everything from impotence to asthma.Last month, Wisconsin hauled its first grower into court in an investigation that began in 1993. Hsu Ginseng Farms of Wausau paid $35,000 in fines.At least six other misdemeanor cases of illegal…

AN HERBAL REMEDY FOR FARMERS TOUGH-TO-CULTIVATE GINSENG BRINGS HANDSOME PRICES HODGENVILLE — Ralph Pickerell is drawn to ginseng the way some people are drawn to, say, flowers.”It’s fascinating to me to see it growing,” said Pickerell. The Larue County farmer grows more cultivated ginseng than anyone else in Kentucky.Pickerell has farmed his whole life, raising tobacco, cattle and hay. Six years ago, he got out of tobacco completely.

Ginseng Growers Seek Tonic for China Trade May 10 SHANGHAI, China Earthy-tasting and mildly bitter, Wisconsin ginseng ranks as the state’s strongest and oldest connection to the Orient, making it easier to buy the feel-good medicinal root in China than even in Milwaukee.And so it comes as a shock to see ginseng farmers from upstate Marathon County, after they’ve traveled halfway around the world, seethe just to behold the aisles of “Wisconsin ginseng” in a Chinese supermarket….

Ginseng may be the best shot Kentucky’s small farmers have at replacing dwindling tobacco revenues, according to the Appalachian Ginseng Foundation.But growers will first have to figure out how to market the valuable root while stopping rampant poaching, a group of about 30 ginseng growers said yesterday at a foundation seminar.Advocates hope to devise a marketing system for ginseng similar to the Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative Association, where… Purchase Complete Article, of 536 words 18. Boston Globe, The (MA) – June 20, 2006 DIGGING INTO THE HISTORY OF GINSENG For most Americans, ginseng is available in the form of herbal tea or one of the dietary supplements in drugstores. It’s rumored to increase energy, reduce stress, lower cholesterol, and increase male sexual capacity. It’s also assumed to come from Asia which it does. But it’s an American herb as well. Ginseng grows wild from Minnesota to North Carolina and is grown commercially in the Midwest

Chai Na Ta Initiates Second Phase of Research Study in Anti oxidant Properties of North American Ginseng Business Wire; May , ; extend the company’s current research into the nd phase of anti oxidant properties of North American ginseng The study will ginseng The of the first phase of the study on its anti oxidant properties are very promising Anti oxidants are compounds which combat free radical molecule.

Panax quinquefolius, commonly known as American Ginseng .The plant’s forked root and leaves were traditionally used for medicinal purposes by Native Americans. Since the 1800s, the roots have been collected by “’sang hunters,” and sold to Chinese or Hong Kong traders, who often pay very high prices for particularly old wild roots.[3]

American Ginseng was formerly particularly widespread in the Appalachian and Ozark regions (and adjacent forested regions such as Pennsylvania and New York State), but due its popularity the wild plant has been overharvested, and is thus rare in most parts of the United States.[4] It is also grown commercially, under artificial shade, in fields in Wisconsin and Minnesota,
Both American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) and Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng) roots are taken orally as adaptogens, aphrodisiacs, nourishing stimulants,[citation needed] and in the treatment of type II diabetes, as well as sexual dysfunction in men. The root is most often available in dried form, either whole or sliced. Ginseng leaf, although not as highly prized, is sometimes also used; as with the root it is most often available in dried form.

This ingredient may also be found in some popular energy drinks: usually the “tea” varieties or functional foods. Usually ginseng is in subclinical doses and it does not have measurable medicinal effects.[citation needed] It can be found in cosmetic preparations as well, with similar lack of effect.