Scientific name | Common name | Family | Common function | Main functional ingredient |
---|---|---|---|---|
Panax ginseng C.A.Mey | Asian ginseng | Araliaceae | Used for strengthening, nourishing, adjusting blood pressure and restoring heart function, neurasthenia and physical weakness [42] | Ginsenoside [84] |
Pannax quinquefolius L. | American ginseng | Araliaceae | Used to treat qi and yin deficiency, endogenous heat, kechuan, sputum, asthenic fever, dysphoria, thirst, and dry mouth and throat [42] | Ginsenoside, etc. [84] |
Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F.H.Chen | Notoginseng | Araliaceae | Used for dispersing blood stasis and haemostasis and relieving swelling and pain [85] | Notoginseng saponins, Dencichine, etc. [84] |
Panax japonicus | Japanese ginseng | Araliaceae | Used for dispersing blood stasis and haemostasis, relieving swelling and pain, eliminating phlegm and arresting coughing and for tonifying deficiency and strengthening [86] | Chikusetsusaponin, pseudo ginsenoside F11, Panax japonicus polysaccharide, etc. [86] |
Panax pseudoginseng Wall. var. major (Burkill) H. L. Li | Himalayan ginseng | Araliaceae | Used to treat qi and yin deficiency, dysphoria, thirst, asthenia coughing, injuries from falling down, joint pain, haemoptysis, haematemesis and bleeding wounds [86] | Majoroside, etc. [86] |
Eleutherococcus senticosus | Siberian ginseng | Araliaceae | Used for regulating body disorders, improving the circulatory system, to treat fatigue, for promoting blood circulation for removing blood stasis, invigorating the stomach and for diuresis and so on [13, 87] | Eleutheroside, acanthopanax senticosus polysaccharide, etc. [13, 87] |
Withania somnifera | Indian ginseng | Solanaceae | Used for strengthening; nourishing;its anti-ageing, anti-stress, antioxidation, anti-tumor, anti-anxiety, anti-inflammatory, anti-depression properties; immune regulation; improving cognitive function and so on [19] | Withanolides and other steroid esters and withanine and other alkaloids [88] |
Pfaffia paniculata | Brazilian ginseng | Amaranthaceae | Often used as a tonic, to relieve fatigue effectively, improve sexual function, and lower blood pressure, blood sugar and blood lipid levels [89] | Pfaffic acid and its glycoside, for example, pfaffosides A–F, and nortiperpene and its glycoside, etc. [86] |
Eurycoma longifolia | Malaysian ginseng | Simaroubaceae | Used for its anticancer, anti-malaria properties, improving male sexual dysfunction, sterilizing, lowering blood pressure and treating diabetes [54] | Diterpenes with quassinoid skeletons and alkaloids such as canthin-6-one, mainly, biphenyl lignin and squalene derivatives [54] |
Lepidium meyerii | Peruvian ginseng | Brassicaceae | Used as s natural nutrient, for enhancing fertility effectively and for its anti-fatigue properties [90] | Marca amide, marca alkaloids, etc. [91] |
Talinum paniculatum | Folk ginseng | Talinaceae | Used as a medicinal tonic and for strengthening, nourishing, improving qi, replenishing blood, aiding digestion, promoting fluid production, quenching thirst and treating cough and phlegm containing blood [92] | Terpenoids, coumarins, volatile oils, and polysaccharides, etc. [93] |