What it is:
This herb is theroot of Panax ginsengC. A Mey. ( family Araliaceae),which ischiefly produced inJilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang provin-ces, the herb producedin Fusong of Jilin being of good quality. The cultivated ginsengis called "garden ginseng" while the wild is known as "mountain ginseng". Cultivated ginseng is harvested in autumn, dried in thesun or roasted, which is called: sun-dried ginseng", or dried after being steamed, known as "red ginseng", or soaked in syrup, known as "sugar-processed ginseng". The fibrous rootletsare known as ginsengrootlets. Wild ginsengdried in the sun is known as sun- cured wild ginseng. The herb is sliced for use after being rid of the rhizome.

Property:
Sweet and slightly bitter in flavour, neutral in property,acting on the spleen,lung and heart channels.

Effects:
Repleni-shing the primordialqi, restoring pulseand treating clloapse,tonifying the spleenand lung, promotingthe production of body fluid to quench thirst,tranquilizingthe mind and impro-ving mental power.

Used for:
1. Prodromal manifestations of prostration syndromedue to deficiency of qi. For short breath, listlessness,pulse so weak thatyou can hardly feelit, prodromal symptomsof prostration syndrome due to extremedeficiency after a severe or prolonged illness, massive haemorrhage,hypere-mesis or spouting diarrhoea, it can beused alone in largedosage and in a thick decoction for oral use, i.e. Gingseng Decoction(Du Shen Tang); for prostration syndromedue to deficiency of qi accompanied byyang depletion withsymptoms like profusesweating and cold limbs, it is used together with the lateral root of aconite for a decoc-tion named Decoctionof Gingseng and Prepared Aconite(ShenFu Tang).

2.Deficiency syn-drome of the spleen.For listlessness, lassitude, anorexia,feeling of fullnessand stiffness in theupper abdomen,diarrheaand others due to deficiency of the spleen-qi, and generalweakness due to deficiency of qi of various causes, it is often prescribed with white atracty-lodes,poria and stir-baked liquorice,i.e.Decoction of Four Noble Herbs (Si Jun zi Tang).

3. Syndrome of deficiency of the lung-qi. For cough, short breath, as-thenia,feeble pulse,spontaneous sweatingand others due to deficiency of the lung-qi, it is usuallyused with walnut kernel,schisandra fruit and gecko, as in Decoction of ginseng and Walnut(Renshen Hutao Tang) and Powder of ginsengand Gecko( Renshen Gejie San). For coughwith blood stainedsputum due to consumption, it can be used with blood stained sputum due to consumption, it can be used with tatarian aster root,aenmarrhene rhizome,donkey-hide gelatin,as in Decoction of Tatarian Aster(ZiwanTang).

4. Thirst and diabetes due to im-pairment of body fluid. For consumptionof both qi and body fluid with manife-stations of short breath,thirst,profusesweat and feeble andthready pulse in febrile diseases, itis often given withophiopogon root and schisandra fruit , known as Pulse-activating Powder(Shengmai San), from which recipe and injection has been developed and used for rescuing shock patients in recent years. For the treat-ment of diabetes withthirst and polyuria,it is often used with herbs which can tonify yin and promote the productionof body fluid, such as dried rehmannia root, scrophularia root,ophiopogon root,trichosanthes root and other herbs.

5. Irritability,insomnia, dreaminess,palpitation inducedby fright,forgetful-ness, listlessness, lassitude and othersdue to deficiency of both the heart and spleen. It is often used with chinese angelica root,wild jujube seed and longan aril, as in Decoction for Invigorating theSpleen and Nourishing the Heart(GuipiTang). 6. Syndromes ofdeficiency of theblood or both the qi and blood. For defi-ciency of both qi and blood, it is often used with prepared rehmanniaroot, as in Extract for Treating Both Qiand Blood (Liangyi Gao); for deficiency of the blood, it is often used with bloodtonics like chineseangelica root. Besides, this herb given together with yang tonics can be used in the treatment of impotence due todeficiency of thekidney; for affection of the superficies byexopathogenic factors due to general defi-ciency, or when the patientis too weak toendure purgatives, it is used in purgative recipes as a supple-ment to enhance the body's resistance todiseases to achieve the aim of strengthen-ing the body resis-tance and eliminatingpathogenic factors.

Dosage andadministration: 5-10g, decocted alone with a slow fire andits decoction ismixed with that ofother herbs for anoral dose; or ground into powder for swallows, 1-2g each time, 2-3 times a day; for rescuing patients with prostration syndrome, large dosage of 15-30g should be used for a decoctionto be taken in separate doses.

Precautions:
It should not be prescribed in cases of excess syndrome and heat syndrome without deficiency of the vital qi. This herb should not be usedtogether with blackhellebore, tragopterusdung and honey louest. Radishand tea should beavoided in the period when this herb is used to avoid any reduction of the herb's efficacy.