Ginseng in Traditional Herbal Prescriptions

• Published in: Journal of ginseng research Vol. 36; no. 3; pp. 225 - 241
• Main Authors: Park, Ho Jae, Kim, Dong Hyun, Park, Se Jin, Kim, Jong Min, Ryu, Jong Hoon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) 고려인삼학회 01.07.2012; The Korean Society of Ginseng
• Subjects: 기타의약학; Translational; Panax ginseng; Modern Pharmacological experiments; Herbal Prescription; Historical documents; Herbal prescription; Modern pharmacological experiments; Translational approaches
• ISSN: 1226-8453; 2093-4947
• DOI: 10.5142/jgr.2012.36.3.225

Panax ginseng Meyer has been widely used as a tonic in traditional Korean, Chinese, and Japanese herbal medicines and in Western herbal preparations for thousands of years. In the past, ginseng was very rare and was considered to have mysterious powers. Today, the efficacy of drugs must be tested through well-designed clinical trials or meta-analyses, and ginseng is no exception. In the present review, we discuss the functions of ginseng described in historical documents and describe how these functions are taken into account in herbal prescriptions. We also discuss the findings of experimental pharmacological research on the functions of ginseng in ginseng-containing prescriptions and how these prescriptions have been applied in modern therapeutic interventions. The present review on the functions of ginseng in traditional prescriptions helps to demystify ginseng and, as a result, may contribute to expanding the use of ginseng or ginseng-containing prescriptions.