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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = American Ginseng
| image = Panax quinquefolius.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = ''Panax quinquefolius'' foliage and fruit
| status = G3
| status_system = TNC
| status_ref = <ref name=natureserve>{{Cite web
| publisher =NatureServe
| title = Panax quinquefolius
| work = NatureServe Explorer
| url = http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Panax+quinquefolius+
| accessdate = 2007-07-03}}</ref>
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Apiales]]
| familia = [[Araliaceae]]
| subfamilia = [[Aralioideae]]
| genus = ''[[Panax]]''
| species = '''''P. quinquefolius'''''
| binomial = ''Panax quinquefolius''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}

'''''Panax quinquefolius''''', commonly known as '''American Ginseng''' and often by its Chinese name '''''Xiyangshen''''' ({{zh-stp|s=西洋参|t=西洋參|p=xīyángshēn}}), is an herbaceous perennial in the [[Araliaceae|ivy family]] that is commonly used in medicine. It is native to eastern [[North America]], though it also cultivated beyond its range in places such as [[China]].<ref name=chinaflora>
{{Citation
| last =Xiang
| first =Qibai; Lowry P., Porter
| contribution =Panax quinquefolius
| year =2007
| title =Flora of China
| editor-last =Wu
| editor-first =Z. Y.; Raven, P.H.; Hong, D.Y.
| volume =13
| pages =491
| place=Beijing
| publisher =Science Press; St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press
| contribution-url = http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200015253
| accessdate = 2007-07-03
| id = }}</ref>

The plant's forked root and leaves were traditionally used for medicinal purposes by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]]s. 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.[http://www.research.vt.edu/resmag/2002summer/forestproducts.html]
[[Image:Ginsenghoes.jpg|thumb|left|165px|[[Hoe (tool)|Hoes]] used to dig American Ginseng in the Appalachian Mountains]]
American Ginseng was formerly particularly widespread in the [[Appalachian Mountains|Appalachian]] region (and adjacent forested regions such as [[Pennsylvania]] and [[New York|New York State]]), but due its popularity the wild plant has been overharvested, and is thus rare in most parts of the United States.[http://www.rps.psu.edu/pennsylvania/ginseng.html] It is also grown commercially, under artificial shade, in fields in [[Wisconsin]] and [[Minnesota]], and usually harvested after three to four years when ripe.[http://www.rps.psu.edu/pennsylvania/ginseng.html]

'''Chemical components'''

Like [[Panax ginseng]], American ginseng contains dammarane type [[ginsenosides]] as the major biologically active constituents. Dammarane type ginsenosides includes 2 classifications: the 20(S)-protopanaxadiol [ppd] and 20(S)-protopanaxatriol [ppt] classifications. American ginseng contains high levels of Rb1, Rd (ppd classification) and Re (ppt classification) ginsenosides -- higher than that of P. ginseng in one study. <ref name=ginseng>{{cite journal
| author=Shu Zhu ''et al''
| title=Comparative study on triterpene saponins of ginseng drugs
| journal=Planta medica
| year=2004
| volume=70
| issue=7
| pages=666–677
| id = PMID 15303259}}</ref>


'''Pharmacokinetics'''

When taken orally, ppd-type ginsenosides are mostly metabolized by intestinal bacteria ([[anaerobes]]) to ppd monoglucoside, 20-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-20(S)-protopanaxadiol (M1).
<ref name=ginsenoside>{{cite journal
| author=Hasegawa H ''et al''
| title=Main ginseng saponin metabolites formed by intestinal bacteria
| journal=Planta medica
| year=1996
| volume=62
| issue=5
| pages=453–457
| id = PMID 8923812}}</ref>
In humans, M1 is detected in plasma from 7 hours after the intake of ppd-type ginsenosides and in urine from 12 hours after the intake. These findings indicate that M1 is the final metabolite of ppd-type ginsenosides.
<ref name=C-K>{{cite journal
| author=Tawab MA ''et al''
| title=Degradation of ginsenosides in humans after oral administration
| journal=Drug metabolism and disposition
| year=2003
| volume=31
| issue=8
| pages=1065–1071
| id = PMID 12867496}}</ref>

M1 is referred to in some articles as IH-901
<ref name=M1>{{cite journal
| author=Oh SH ''et al''
| title=A ginseng saponin metabolite-induced apoptosis in HepG2 cells involves a mitochondria-mediated pathway and its downstream caspase-8 activation and Bid cleavage
| journal=Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology
| year=2004
| volume=194
| issue=3
| pages=221–229
| id = PMID 14761678}}</ref>
, and in others as compound-K.
<ref name=C-K>{{cite journal
| author=Tawab MA ''et al''
| title=Degradation of ginsenosides in humans after oral administration
| journal=Drug metabolism and disposition
| year=2003
| volume=31
| issue=8
| pages=1065–1071
| id = PMID 12867496}}</ref>
[[image:Rb1 & M1.jpg|thumb|right|Chemical structures of Rb1 and its metabolite M1. Reproduced with permission from Neuropsychopharmacology; 2004;29(5)860-868; Nature Publishing Group]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.research.vt.edu/resmag/2002summer/forestproducts.html "There is More to a Forest than Trees"] by Lynn Davis, College of Natural Resources, Virginia Tech
*[http://www.rps.psu.edu/pennsylvania/ginseng.html "Roots and Regulations: The Unfolding Story of Pennsylvania Ginseng"], by Melissa Beattie-Moss

[[Category:Araliaceae]]
[[Category:Herbs]]

Panax quinquefolius - Revision history

MediaWiki default at 10:10, 25 October 2007