Researchers searching for secrets of ginseng
By JOHN YAUKEY
The Ithaca Journal
ITHACA (AP) - For the people who gather ginseng from the hardwood forests of the Northeast, the fabled healing root is nothing short of herbal gold.
Ginseng has become so popular as an herbal additive that it can fetch as much as $450 a pound, prompting Cornell University researchers to examine the prospects for raising it in New York State as a cash crop.
With a $45,000 hatch grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the researchers will try and define the secrets of ginseng, which scientists now know very little about.
The Cornell study is believed to be the first major scientific analysis of the plant's reputed beneficial chemicals and the way in which certain growing conditions may contribute to them.
Ginseng already is successfully cultivated. But the field-raised varieties supposedly lack the concentrations of compounds that make the natural type much more valuable. Cultivated ginseng currently fetches only about $25 a pound.
"There's no doubt the market reflects a belief that the natural is far superior, but we have no data yet to support that," said Louise Buck, senior extension agent in Cornell's Department of Natural Resources and coordinator of the Cornell Agroforestry Working Group, which is conducting the study. "That's part of what we want to find out."
Ginseng is used in a variety of products from tea and cold beverages to dietary supplements and herbal medicines.
It's reputed to help stimulate the immune system, balance the metabolism, reduce blood sugar and maintain hormone levels.
Consumed by Asians for 4,000 years, ginseng roots contain complex carbohydrates called ginsenosides, which some believe are responsible for its beneficial effects. Ginseng also is rich in B-vitamins, folic acid, amino acids and minerals such as iron and zinc.
The Cornell study will investigate:
· The relationship between growing conditions and the quantities of ginsenosides, vitamins and minerals.
· The ecology of the plant, its soil and the forest conditions under which it grows best.
· The market currently, ginseng is harvested and sold largely through informal conduits free of government analysis and regulation, so little is known about how much is harvested and sold other than it's a large quantity.
Herbal compounds in general are growing in popularity, but few like ginseng.
"It's amazing what happened with its popularity in the last couple of years," Buck said.
Traditional ginseng was taken as a balancing agent. But much of its sale in American markets now is as a mild stimulate.
"A lot of that has to do with our culture," said Catherine York, assistant manager at Greenstar Coop Market in Ithaca, which sells American, Siberian and Chinese ginseng. "We try to over perform."
The coveted naturally growing ginseng is found in the northern faces of forests from the North-East through the Midwest and as far south as Arkansas. Cultivated ginseng is grown in dense fields under shade cloth.
The ginseng root nourishes a deciduous plant that grows from six inches to more than a foot and lives 10 years or more.
Part of the Cornell study will be to determine how, if at all, ginseng might be cultivated in its native habitat, thereby replicating the desired natural quantities.
Sylvan Botanicals Catskill Mountain Ginseng