Rodzaj Panax – systematyka, skład chemiczny, działanie i zastosowanie oraz analiza fitochemiczna nadziemnych i podziemnych organów żeń-szenia amerykańskiego – Panax quinquefolium L. Cz. I.

*Tadeusz Wolski, Agnieszka Ludwiczuk, Tomasz Baj, Kazimierz Głowniak, Łukasz Świątek

Summary
In this article general information concerning ginseng and its taxonomy are presented. Further, the historical use and botanical description is given. The basic biologically active compounds, with special attention to ginsenosides and their biosynthesis are described. Important part of this article is the description of pharmacological effects and multidirectional application of ginseng.
Ginseng is a well known to human plant, that have been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. Despite the times when the ginseng root had the price of gold belong to past, it is still a very valued medicinal substance. The exploitation of natural habitats of ginseng coerced the trials of cultivation of this plant. At present almost all ginseng root available on market is derived from agriculture crops. For the last few years, also in Lublin, research on american ginseng (Panax qiunquefolium L.) were being conducted. Ginseng cultivation is expensive and time-consuming because it requires special soil and climatic conditions. Cultivated ginseng grows faster than naturally but delivers, in most cases, inferior medicinal substance. That is why optimization of extraction processes on industrial scale in the direction of higher effectiveness and recovery along with maintaining low costs and time-consumption of those processes is crucial.
Main bioactive compounds responsible for pharmacological properties of ginseng are called ginsenosides. From literature data it can be concluded, that the bets therapeutic results can be obtained when extract containing various ginsenosides is used. Research indicate that different ginsenosides express often not only different but also antagonistic pharmacological effects. What is more, sometimes the different doses can induce antagonistic effects; ex. ginsenoside Rg₁ in small doses stimulates the CNS (Central Nervous System), while larger doses have inhibitory effect. That is why both, qualitative and quantitative analysis of ginenosides present in ginseng extracts is crucial for assuring their therapeutic effectiveness. That analysis can be performed thanks to modern and effective analytical techniques.

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