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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Steven,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>You are correct about Panax ginseng being Asian
ginseng, but not all ginseng grown in Korea is Korean ginseng or all ginseng
grown in China Panax ginseng. The U.S. and Canada ship out seeds from American
ginseng (<EM>Panax quinquefolium</EM>) to Korea and China in large amounts.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Two years ago, I received a request from a
Chinese buyer for 6000 pounds of American ginseng seed, 3000 of which were
to be stratified and the other 3000 pounds were to
be green. Of course, there was no way I could supply such a
huge order, nor would I, even if I had that amount. Their obvious intention is
to eliminate their dependency on buying American ginseng from American
growers. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>As you well know, a great amount of the Korean and
Chinese <EM>Panax ginseng</EM> products imported into the U.S. are nothing more
than field-grown cultivated American ginseng (<EM>Panax quinquefolium</EM>)
that was grown in either China or Korea. Also, please note that both of
these countries import tons of American ginseng, process it and return it to as
"Asian ginseng". </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><EM>"Here's how the switch takes place: Wisconsin
ginseng is shipped to China to be sorted into various grades. While the sorting
process is itself a legitimate part of distributing ginseng, smugglers often use
it as a ruse to switch Wisconsin ginseng with Asian- or Canadian-grown ginseng
considered inferior by consumers. The lower quality ginseng is then shipped back
to the U.S. for sale to American consumers who think they are buying the
Wisconsin-grown product." </EM>
<P><EM>"For consumers concerned with purchasing ginseng grown in the U.S., there
is no accurate way of testing ginseng to determine where it was grown, other
than testing for pesticides that are banned in the United States. The Ginseng
Board of Wisconsin has been testing some ginseng found on store shelves, and in
many of the products, residues of chemicals such as DDT, lead, arsenic, and
quintozine (PCNB) have been detected. Since the majority of ginseng sold in the
U.S. originates from countries with less stringent pesticide standards, it is
vitally important that consumers know which ginseng is really grown in the
U.S."</EM></P></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>To read more on this subject: <A
href="http://www.senate.gov/~feingold/speeches/04/05/2004527724.html">http://www.senate.gov/~feingold/speeches/04/05/2004527724.html</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>There are many American growers now cultivating
<EM>Panax ginseng</EM> from Korean ginseng seeds. Therefore, I must disagree
with your statement that <EM>"<FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>It may be
correctly referred to as Korean ginseng only if it's from (grown in) Korea."
</FONT></EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><EM></EM> </DIV>
<DIV>Respectfully,</DIV>
<DIV>Scott Harris</DIV>
<DIV>Sylvan Botanicals</DIV>
<DIV><A href="http://www.catskillginseng.com">www.catskillginseng.com</A> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=sdentali@ahpa.org href="mailto:sdentali@ahpa.org">Steven Dentali,
Ph.D.</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=MPWG@lists.plantconservation.org
href="mailto:MPWG@lists.plantconservation.org">MPWG@lists.plantconservation.org</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, October 29, 2005 9:37
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [MPWG] quick question about
ginseng use</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Just a point of regulatory nomenclature clarification
(according to <I>Herbs of Commerce, 2nd Edition</I> and adopted by FDA
effective Jan 1, 2006), the common name for <EM>Panax ginseng</EM> is Asian
ginseng. It may be correctly referred to as Korean ginseng only if it's from
(grown in) Korea.<BR><PRE class=moz-signature cols="72">Steven Dentali, Ph.D.
VP, Scientific and Technical Affairs
American Herbal Products Association
8484 Georgia Avenue, Suite 370
Silver Spring, MD 20910
301.588.1171 x 103
Fax: 301.588.1174
<A class=moz-txt-link-abbreviated href="http://www.ahpa.org">www.ahpa.org</A>
</PRE><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=midBAY102-F141646945FFB4DAF57E554D06B0@phx.gbl type="cite">
<DIV>
<P>Yes,<EM> panax ginseng</EM> is Asian or Korean ginseng.
<BR></P></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>
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