What is the definition of tonic?

tonic: medicine or food that nourishes the body.

As for ginseng, I believe those who have read the article have a certain understanding of ginseng. Let's talk about its chemical composition and pharmacological action directly here:

Chemical composition of ginseng:

Ginseng roots, stems, leaves, flowers and fruits are rich in various ginsenosides, in addition, ginseng roots contain .12% volatile oil, stems and leaves contain .13% volatile oil, and flowers contain .29% volatile oil. The nonpolar part of ginseng root contains panaxynol, α-ginsenoside, β-ginsenoside and sterol compounds. Ginseng also contains lysine, histidine, arginine and other amino acids, vitamins, various organic acids, flavonoids and sugar.

Ginseng plants are all used for medicine. According to the external morphology and saponin composition of underground parts, Ginseng plants can be divided into two groups. One group has erect rhizomes and developed fleshy roots, mainly containing dammarane-type tetracyclic triterpenoid saponins, while the other group has developed rhizomes, which are in the form of bamboo whips or beads, and the fleshy roots are less developed, mainly containing oleanolic acid-type pentacyclic triterpenoid saponins.

Pharmacological effects:

Ginseng has the effects of invigorating primordial qi, restoring pulse, relieving fatigue, invigorating spleen and lung, promoting fluid production, and calming the nerves.

1, the effect on the central nervous system. Ginseng has both excitatory and inhibitory effects on the nervous system, especially the excitatory effect. Ginsenosides Rg have excitatory effect and Rb have inhibitory effect. Ginseng has the function of improving intelligence, Rg1 is related to learning process, while Rb1 is related to memory and stability. Ginsenoside can obviously reduce the convulsion rate caused by pentylenetetrazol and the mortality rate caused by strychnine in mice.

2, the effect on the immune system. Ginseng can enhance the immune function of the body in an all-round way, and its active components are mainly saponins and polysaccharides.

3. Effects on cardiovascular system.

(1), cardiotonic effect. The therapeutic dose of ginseng can strengthen the contractility of many animals' hearts, slow down the heart rate, and the cardiotonic effect is more obvious when the heart function is insufficient.

(2) Anti-myocardial ischemia. Oral ginsenoside can obviously improve the electrocardiogram and serum enzymology of myocardial ischemia induced by isoproterenol in rats, and its effect is similar to propranolol.

(3) Effects on blood vessels and blood pressure Ginseng can dilate the coronary artery, cerebrovascular artery, vertebral artery and pulmonary artery of the whole animal, and improve the blood circulation of these organs.

4. Effects on blood and hematopoietic system. Ginsenoside can prevent blood coagulation and promote fibrinolysis; Reduce the aggregation of red blood cells, increase the fluidity of blood and improve tissue perfusion. Ginseng extract can promote hematopoietic function of bone marrow, and significantly increase WBC, RBC, Hb in blood and the number of nucleated cells in bone marrow.

5, the role of internal subsystem.

(1) the effect on the axis of drooping brain-pituitary-adrenal cortex. Appropriate amount of ginseng is excited about the axis of drooping brain-pituitary-adrenal cortex, which enhances its function.

(2) Effect on drooping brain-pituitary-gonad axis. Ginsenosides Rg1 and Rb1 can increase the release of gonadotropin in the anterior pituitary gland. In addition, ginseng can increase the thyroid function of rabbits.

6, the effect on substance metabolism.

(1), the role of sugar metabolism. Ginseng has hypoglycemic effect on hyperglycemia caused by injection of adrenaline and hypertonic glucose. In addition, ginseng can also increase the blood sugar decreased by insulin injection, indicating that it has a two-way regulation effect on glucose metabolism.

(2) the effect on protein and nucleic acid metabolism. Protein synthesis promoter and total saponins in ginseng can promote the biosynthesis of protein, DNA and RNA, the activity of RNA aggregator and the contents of albumin and γ-globulin.

(3), the effect on lipid metabolism. Ginseng can improve the increase of serum LDL-C and fatty liver in rats fed with high cholesterol diet and patients with hyperlipidemia, and can promote cholesterol excretion and prevent the formation of hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis.

7. Enhance the body's anti-stress ability. Ginseng can strengthen the adaptability of the body, enhance the nonspecific resistance of the body to various harmful stimuli and injuries such as physics, chemistry and biology, and restore the disordered function to normal, that is, it has the function of "adapting to the original".

8. Anti-shock effect. Ginsenoside can obviously prolong the survival time of animals with anaphylactic shock and scalding shock. The frequency of cardiac contractility in animals with hemorrhagic acute circulatory failure was significantly increased.

9. Anti-aging effect. Ginsenoside can obviously prolong animal life and cell life; Inhibit the activity of MAO-B in the brain stem of old animals, and make the level of NA in cerebral cortex close to that of young animals; Eliminate free radicals that cause aging in the body and protect biofilm.

1, anti-tumor effect. Ginseng extract, ginsenoside and ginseng polysaccharide all have anti-experimental tumor effects.

11. Other functions. Enhance the detoxification function of liver, inhibit the increase of ALT and the decrease of P-45, RNA and sugar content in liver of mice poisoned by carbon tetrachloride and thioacetamide. Anti-gastric ulcer.