INCI name: PANAX GINSENG EXTRACT
Origin
Ginseng is a perennial root herb about 30-70 cm high, which can reach an age of up to 100 years. The taste of the root is sweetish and weakly aromatic. Panax is found in the shady mountain forests of East Asia from Nepal to Manchuria. It is cultivated in northern China, Russia, Korea, Japan and Canada. The root has been used as a universal remedy in East Asia for 5000 years, and many legends surround the ginseng root (Chinese “gin-seng” = man-root). The roots were weighed out with gold in ancient China.
Active ingredients of Panax Ginseng Extract
The genuine Panax ginseng drug contains 2-3% of a saponin mixture composed of at least 10 individual compounds, the ginsensoids. Further were found stigmasterol, danosterol, alpha-aminobutyric acid. Glutamic acid, cysteine, choline, nicotinic, pantothenic and folic acids, biotin, vitamin B12. After hydrolysis from the saponin mixture, glucose, fructose, arabinose, maltose, sucrose, panose and restose were detected.
Effect of Panax Ginseng Extract
The root has played an important role in Chinese folk medicine since the Han Dynasty as a tonic and aphrodisiac. Recent studies have shown that this effect is mainly attributable to the saponins. Individual saponin fractions have been shown to have blood pressure-lowering, cholesterol-lowering, vasodilating, gonadotropic, and RNA/protein biosynthesis stimulating effects.
The drug is used in extract form, especially in combination with vitamins, as a means of enhancing performance in old age. A constant effect can only be expected from standardized ginseng extracts from defined botanical origins.
- stimulating
- invigorating
- skin-protecting effect
- Antioxidant
Use
In cosmetics, the stimulating, strengthening and skin-protecting effect of the root is used, especially for red, blemished and dry skin.