The ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program (BAPP) published a review on the adulteration of ginseng root and root extract in a special edition of Natural Product Communications.

“Ginseng” refers to several plant species in the genus Panax, which contains 16 species. The most common cultivated species are Asian ginseng (P. ginseng), American ginseng (P. quinquefolius), and tienchi ginseng (P. notoginseng).

Ginseng roots have been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years. In East Asia, P. ginseng is used for energy support, sleep support, and sexual wellness. American ginseng has been a part of North American herbal traditions for digestive health, inflammatory support, and immune support. Tienchi ginseng is used to support healthy blood flow.

Ginseng has a long history of adulteration. Five- and six-year old roots are especially expensive, and are commonly adulterated with younger roots. Other forms of adulteration include substitution with low-cost Panax species, excessive amounts of fillers or excipients, mixing extracted or waste root material with unextracted root, and undisclosed blending of non-root ginseng parts or roots of similar-looking species. Some dietary supplements have also been reported to contain undeclared active pharmaceutical ingredients.

The paper, “Ginseng adulteration across global markets and evaluation of commercial product authenticity,” reviews 48 publications in which researchers assessed the identity and authenticity of commercial ginseng roots, root slices, powders, and extracts. Results from 40 of these studies show that 211 of 853 commercial ginseng products (24.7%) were adulterated, mostly with substitution of the declared species with roots or extracts from lower-cost plants. The eight other studies reported on the undisclosed presence of active pharmaceutical ingredients, which occurred in 28 of 57 (49.1%) of products analyzed.

The review was written by Nilüfer Orhan, PhD, a research scientist at the American Botanical Council (ABC) and BAPP; Stefan Gafner, PhD, chief science officer of ABC; and Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director of ABC.

“The information gathered suggests that ginseng adulteration is a persistent problem. In most cases, this happens for financial gain, even if information from colleagues who are in the ginseng business suggests that costs of Asian and American ginseng roots are very similar,” said Gafner. “However, the sale price depends a lot on the type of roots, with main roots fetching the highest price, while slender roots are available at a much lower cost. Hence, economically motivated adulteration seems to be mostly driven by price differences in the quality of the root material rather than the species.”

“I have been involved with problems with ginseng in commerce since the 1970s,” said Blumenthal. “In 1979, when I was the president of the now-defunct Herb Trade Association, a small trade association that represented the fledgling herb industry, we researched and published a notice to the natural products industry that warned about the promotion and sale of so-called ‘Wild Red American Ginseng,’ an intentionally mislabeled and fraudulent product that was being sold to health food stores. Fortunately, this educational activity was successful in the removal of the mislabeled and adulterated product from store shelves.” Blumenthal also noted that the review addressed use of the term “ginseng” for non-Panax plants, but where local convention has allowed for their marketing as “ginseng.” In these specific scenarios, nomenclature practices aren’t considered adulteration/fraud.