One reason may be that ginseng really isn t a panacea, and many of the claims for it are exaggerated, says Tirun Gopal, M.D., an obstetrician and gynecologist who practices holistic and Ayurvedic medicine in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Ginseng is one of the most abused herbal medications that I know of. It certainly has its uses, but it is not a panacea. Despite these reservations, though, there are still some things that ginseng seems to do quite well. The Chinese think of ginseng as a normalizing or restorative agent.
Western herbalists classify it as an adaptogen, an herb that has the ability to normalize function.
Ginseng s dual nature as both a calming influence and an energy booster can be traced to a group of active ingredients called panaxosides or ginsenosides. There are at least 13 types of ginsenosides in ginseng . Some stimulate the central nervous system, while others apparently act as pain relievers and tranquilizers, calming the stomach and nervous system. Asian ginseng may be more stimulating than its American cousin because it contains a different balance of ginsenosides. No one is really sure, however, because there may be as many as 30 active ingredients in ginseng .