Siberian Ginseng - Ci Wu
Jia
"Siberian Ginseng" (Eleuthero) is
known all over the world now as one of the ultimate adaptogenic
agents.
Also known as
Acanthopanax and Eleutherococcus, the root of this
plant helps provide the long term energy and the ability to cope with
very difficult stress that is so often needed in many everyday walks of
life.
I personaly
use this herb quite often on those Arizona days that are over 100 degrees
when I need to work outside. I can tell you it is a life saver on those
days! On the other hand, many people that live in cold areas have
told me it is a life saver to them in coping with extreme cold
when they have to work out in those
conditions.
Eleutherococcus senticosis (Siberian Ginseng)
is more tonifying than the true Ginsengs (Panax sp.) It is neutral
energetically and so is appropriate for daily use. Taken regularly, it
enhances immune function, increases cortisol levels and inflammatory
response, and it promotes improved cognitive and physical performance in
human studies. Also unlike the Panax sp. it will lower high blood
pressure, not raise it.
Eleuthero has been successfully used in China to
treat bone marrow suppression caused by chemotherapy or radiation, angina hypercholesterolemia,
hypertension, neurasthenia with headache, insomnia, and poor
appetite.
This amazing herb aids in
the recovery from hard physical exercise, as well as from extreme mental
exertion. It’s reputation for this is fast becoming common knowledge all
over the world. It is now
commonly used by thousands of people required to engage in high stress,
high energy-demanding activities such as high altitude flying,
long-distance sailing, working in high or low temperature environments or
in deep water. Most any competing athletic runners use it because they
simply can not outrun the competition that does use it!
Acanthopanax is used by all Russian astronauts.
(cosmonauts) The use of the extract of this herb in t
hese endeavors has
been reported to increase physical strength, sharpen concentration,
improve various parameters of mental power, increase visual acuity,
improve color vision and to promote the natural healing power of the
body.
In Chinese history, Li Shih Chen, in his Great
Catalog of Medicinal Herbs, called Siberian Ginseng (Ci
Wu Jia) a superior herb, indicating the he believed that
Acanthopanax has a primarily tonic, anti-aging nature rather than a
medicinal effect. He describes it in this way: "Its
action is to invigorate physical energy, regulate vigor, strengthen the
skeleton and tendons and increase one’s ambition. If administered over a
long period of time, it can delay weakness and aging. Indications for its
use include sexual debility, overly-frequent urination, lumbago
(low-back pain), rheumatic pain in the legs and weakness of vigor and
vitality."
For all you "science buffs" out
there, many of the active constituents in E. senticosus are triterpenoid
saponins. Though all terpenoid compounds have bioactivity in mammals, it
is the triterpenes that are most important to the adaptogenic effect.
The majority of known triterpenoid compounds in E.
senticosus are found as saponin glycosides which refers to the attachment
of various sugar molecules to the triterpene unit. These sugars are
usually cleaved off in the gut by bacteria, allowing the aglycone
(triterpene) to be absorbed. Saponin glycosides have the characteristic of
reducing surface tension of water and will strip the lipids. So it could
jus
t possably help you loose
weight!
Formulators Of Natural
Medicine