What are the main differences between American ginseng and Panax ginseng?

American ginseng and ginseng are both relatively precious tonics. Because both belong to the genus Ginseng and have very similar shapes, many people do not know how to distinguish between ginseng and American ginseng, especially after being cut into slices, it is even more difficult to identify. Today, the editor will teach you how to distinguish between ginseng and American ginseng. Let’s follow the editor to learn more about it!

1. Ginseng

The texture is brittle, hard, heavy and sparse, with pale yellowish white cross section and powdery texture. The cambium rings are brownish yellow, and the cortex has yellowish brown dot-like resin ducts and radial cracks. The cross-section is loose and not smooth, with pinhole-like holes or cracks in the center, and the radial texture is not obvious. The slices should be broken. The taste is slightly bitter and sweet. It tastes bitter and pungent at first, but soon becomes lighter and disappears gradually. The ginseng flavor only lasts for 3 to 5 minutes.

2. American Ginseng

It is light and dense, with a flat cross section, light yellow-white color, slightly powdery, sparse yellow-brown dot-like resin ducts visible on the cortex, and brown-yellow cambium rings. The cut surface is smooth, bright and dense, yellow-white in color, with clear radiating texture. When the slice is held up to the light, there is a bright halo between the bark and the wood, which resembles the anti-counterfeiting line of RMB, and the radiating lines in the wood are also intermittent and transparent. The taste is slightly bitter and sweet. It tastes slightly bitter at first, then turns to sweetness, and the ginseng flavor can last for up to 10 minutes.

3. Domestic American ginseng

That is the American ginseng introduced from Jilin, which is hard, light and dense. The cross section is slightly flat, light yellow-white, powdery, with obvious yellow-brown dot-like resin ducts visible on the cortex, and the cambium rings are brown-yellow. The cut surface is relatively smooth and clean, with occasional roughness, and is yellowish-white in color with visible radiating texture. There is no bright halo when the slice is held up to the light, and the rays of the wood are occasionally visible as translucent rays. The taste is bitter and sweet. It tastes bitter at first, then turns to sweetness. The ginseng flavor can last for 5 to 8 minutes.

The above content is some methods that the editor has compiled for everyone on how to identify American ginseng. The editor reminds you to pay more attention to observation in daily life, because although American ginseng and ginseng are both ginseng, their effects are different, so in daily life, do not take them casually, you need to use the medicine accurately according to the doctor's guidance.