Panax Ginseng Capsules

Recommended use: Take 2-3 capsules daily, unchewed, with plenty of liquid with a meal.

Important notes: Food supplements are not a substitute for a balanced and varied diet and lifestyle. The stated recommended daily intake must not be exceeded. Keep out of reach of small children.

Allergens: According to the raw material specification, it contains no allergens requiring declaration in accordance with Annex II of Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011.

Storage: Store in a cool, dry place, do not freeze, and protect from direct sunlight.

Three plants, one trade name

Under the name Ginseng, three different plants are sold in trade, and only two of them are even related to each other.

Panax ginseng, Korean ginseng, is the species in these capsules. Panax quinquefolius, American ginseng, is a separate species in the same genus with a different ginsenoside profile. The so-called Siberian ginseng, on the other hand, is botanically not ginseng at all: Eleutherococcus senticosus, taiga root, belongs to the same family of Araliaceae, but contains completely different ingredients. Anyone comparing them should pay attention to the botanical name.

Six years until harvest

Panax ginseng is a perennial herb that grows in partial shade and is shaded in cultivation. The root is harvested no earlier than after four years, usually after five to six years. Younger roots contain significantly fewer ginsenosides and therefore fetch lower prices.

After that, the soil is depleted for years and must lie fallow before ginseng can be planted there again. This long cycle, with land tied up for more than half a decade, is the real reason for the raw material price.

White and red ginseng

After harvest, two paths diverge. White ginseng is peeled and simply dried. Red ginseng is treated with steam before drying, which gives it a reddish color and makes it harder.

This is not a cosmetic decision: during steaming, the ginsenoside pattern changes, and individual compounds are converted into others. White and red ginseng are therefore not the same product in two colors, but two raw materials with different compositions.

What ginsenosides are

Ginsenosides are saponins, more precisely triterpene saponins. More than forty different ones have been described, named after their behavior in chromatography. They are regarded as the characteristic ingredients of the genus and therefore serve as a standardization marker.

Our extract is obtained through gentle water-ethanol extraction at low heat and contains at least 5 percent ginsenosides. The solvent is then completely removed. In trade, there are also plain root powders with no stated content at all; in those, the ginsenoside content cannot be quantified.