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| The History of Ginseng |
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For more than 2,000 years, ginseng has
been used in Traditional Chinese medicine as a cure-all. Today, the stimulating
effect of ginseng is still believed to restore inner strength - CH´i. In
ancient times it was thought to be a royal plant and was used only by kings.
It was literally worth its weight in gold. |
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| The popularity of ginseng |
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The origin of the word ginseng is Chinese: "Jen Shen"
means "The power of earth in human shape".
Ginseng has been the source of a number of myths and legends. In China the
plant is still known as the "man root", in Korea as the "root of life" or
"human root", and in Japan it is held in such high regard that it is called
"wonder of the universe". |
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| Ginseng goes west |
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The ginseng root turned up several times in the West
only to be forgotten again.
The first time, Moorish sailors brought it to Spain during the 1st century.
In 1642, it was re-discovered by the explorer Alvaro Samedo and then later
by 17th-century Dutch sailors. It was only in the 20th century, however,
that ginseng was finally acknowledged as a medicinal plant, when its effects
could be tested and documented by scientific methods. |
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