In this country alone its sales run into hundreds of millions of dollars annually. One well-known website advertises ginseng to treat 12 different ailments, from the common cold to HIV infection and Alzheimer's disease. Fruit shake bars all over the country will add ginseng to your smoothie. Deli refrigerators are full of ginseng-enriched teas and other soft drinks. Kids too young to buy beer can purchase ginseng elixirs laced with alcohol at convenience stores.
Scientists are still largely in the dark about the medicinal benefits of ginseng.
But at least its chemical properties have been studied thoroughly. It's not so simple to figure out which of these elements are the important ones. Second, there are at least three types of ginseng with different biological properties. And there are other kinds, too. In addition, ginseng comes in two general types, red and white, depending on how it was processed.