Notoginseng vs American Ginseng · Panax Notoginseng

Notoginseng (Panax notoginseng), the Chinese species called sanqi or tianqi, and American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) share a genus and little else. Notoginseng is the root people take for circulation, platelets, bruises and recovery after a stroke. American ginseng is the root people take for after meal blood sugar, working memory and winter colds. This page sets the two side by side from the notoginseng side. Our sister site tells it from the American side in American ginseng vs notoginseng and covers that species at quinquefolius.com. The three way picture is in the three Panax species.

Two Roots from Two Continents

Notoginseng grows in forests at 1,200 to 1,800 metres in southeast Yunnan and is cultivated in Guangxi and other southern provinces (Flora of China). Chinese medicine has used it for bleeding from injury, trauma, pain and heart and circulation problems (Wang 2016). American ginseng grows wild in the hardwood forests of eastern North America and is farmed in Wisconsin and Ontario, where Chinese buyers know it as xi yang shen, the cooling western root.

The Chemistry Tells Them Apart

A 2011 analysis of nineteen ginsenosides found air dried notoginseng held two to five times more total ginsenosides than air dried American or Asian ginseng (Sun 2011). Notoginseng also makes notoginsenoside R1, which a 2023 study of five Panax species named among the compounds that let a lab tell the species apart (Ji 2023). In a notoginseng saponin extract, ginsenosides Rg1, Rb1, Rd and Re plus notoginsenoside R1 make up about 90 percent of the saponins (Zeng 2026).

Notoginseng Has the Circulation and Heart Trials

The notoginseng record is a circulation record, and almost every trial used a saponin extract rather than root powder. A 2023 trial at 67 Chinese hospitals gave 2,966 people with ischemic stroke 120 mg of notoginseng saponins (Xuesaitong soft capsules, a prescription medicine in China) or placebo twice a day for 3 months. At 3 months, 89.3 percent of the saponin group could live independently against 82.4 percent on placebo (Wu 2023).

A 2022 review of 20 trials in 2,216 people with coronary disease or stroke found notoginseng preparations plus aspirin held platelet clumping down more than aspirin alone, with no rise in bleeding events (Dai 2022). A 2020 review of 24 trials in 1,918 people with diabetic kidney disease found notoginseng preparations added to usual medicines lowered total cholesterol by 1.56 mmol/L and LDL cholesterol by 0.94 mmol/L (Tang 2020). Those trials ran in Chinese hospitals on people already under treatment, so they speak to the root as an addition to care. The details are in notoginseng for circulation and notoginseng for cholesterol.

American Ginseng Has the Blood Sugar, Memory and Cold Trials

A 2000 trial of 19 people found 3 grams of American ginseng root 40 minutes before a sugar drink cut the blood sugar rise by about a fifth (Vuksan 2000). A 2019 crossover trial of 24 people with type 2 diabetes found 3 grams of extract a day for 8 weeks lowered HbA1c, the three month blood sugar average, by 0.29 points (Vuksan 2019).

A 2010 trial of 32 young adults found 100 to 400 mg of a standardised extract improved working memory within hours (Scholey 2010). A 2005 trial of 323 adults found a polysaccharide extract over four months cut colds from 0.93 to 0.68 per person (Predy 2005). A 2013 trial of 364 cancer survivors found 2,000 mg of root a day for 8 weeks eased tiredness (Barton 2013). These trials used shelf products: ground root, root extract and a branded cold extract.

Blood Sugar: One Small Notoginseng Trial Against a Run of American Trials

Notoginseng has one blood sugar trial. In 2012, 52 non diabetic men took 3 grams of notoginseng or placebo a day for 3 days; blood sugar 30 minutes after a glucose drink was 26.3 mg/dL lower on notoginseng, and the area under the curve was lower too (Liang 2012). It is a single short trial in healthy men.

American ginseng has the run. The 2000 trial was followed by three more from the same lab, the 2019 trial in type 2 diabetes, and a 2004 crossover trial of 12 healthy adults that gave 3 grams of eight ginseng types, sanqi among them, before a sugar drink. In that trial American ginseng tended to lower the 90 minute blood sugar while Asian ginseng raised it, and sanqi was not among the types that moved it either way (Sievenpiper 2004). For after meal blood sugar, American ginseng is the species with the trials.

Which One You Want

Circulation, platelets and recovery after a stroke: notoginseng (Panax notoginseng). The trials used saponin extract capsules or hospital injections, so a saponin product matches them.
Cholesterol in people with diabetic kidney disease: notoginseng, as an addition to usual medicines.
Bruises and bleeding: raw notoginseng, the traditional form, in notoginseng for bruises and bleeding.
After meal blood sugar and HbA1c: American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius).
Working memory, winter colds and tiredness during cancer treatment: American ginseng.

What Users Report

Notoginseng users often describe a root they keep for bruises, nosebleeds, heavy periods and circulation, and many take it on a practitioner's advice after a heart event or stroke. American ginseng users describe a calm, steady day and a gentler afternoon. People who use both report keeping them for separate jobs.

Safety Notes

Notoginseng acts on platelets. Talk with your doctor before taking notoginseng if you take warfarin, aspirin, clopidogrel or any blood thinner. Stop it before surgery. Avoid it in pregnancy and breastfeeding, where there are no trials. In the 2,966 person stroke trial, serious side effects on the saponin capsule were 1.0 percent against 1.1 percent on placebo (Wu 2023). American ginseng has its own warfarin note: a 2004 trial of 20 healthy adults found two weeks of it lowered warfarin's blood thinning effect (Yuan 2004), so talk with your doctor before taking either species on warfarin.

For circulation, platelets and recovery after a stroke, notoginseng is the species with the trials. For after meal blood sugar, working memory and winter colds, American ginseng is.

References

Wang T et al. 2016. Traditional uses, botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology of Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F.H. Chen: A review. J Ethnopharmacol.
Sun S et al. 2011. Red notoginseng: higher ginsenoside content and stronger anticancer potential than Asian and American ginseng. Food Chem.
Ji R et al. 2023. Untargeted Metabolomic Analysis and Chemometrics to Identify Potential Marker Compounds for the Chemical Differentiation of Panax ginseng, P. quinquefolius, P. notoginseng, P. japonicus, and P. japonicus var. major. Molecules.
Zeng X et al. 2026. Panax notoginseng saponins against ischemic stroke: From molecule to clinic. J Ethnopharmacol.
Wu L et al. 2023. Efficacy and Safety of Panax notoginseng Saponins in the Treatment of Adults With Ischemic Stroke in China: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open.
Dai L et al. 2022. Panax notoginseng preparation plus aspirin versus aspirin alone on platelet aggregation and coagulation in patients with coronary heart disease or ischemic stroke: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Front Pharmacol.
Tang X et al. 2020. Panax notoginseng preparations as adjuvant therapy for diabetic kidney disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Pharm Biol.
Vuksan V et al. 2000. American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L) reduces postprandial glycemia in nondiabetic subjects and subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Arch Intern Med.
Vuksan V et al. 2019. Efficacy and safety of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) extract on glycemic control and cardiovascular risk factors in individuals with type 2 diabetes: a double-blind, randomized, cross-over clinical trial. Eur J Nutr.
Scholey A et al. 2010. Effects of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) on neurocognitive function: an acute, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. Psychopharmacology (Berl).
Predy GN et al. 2005. Efficacy of an extract of North American ginseng containing poly-furanosyl-pyranosyl-saccharides for preventing upper respiratory tract infections: a randomized controlled trial. CMAJ.
Barton DL et al. 2013. Wisconsin Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) to improve cancer-related fatigue: a randomized, double-blind trial, N07C2. J Natl Cancer Inst.
Liang MTC et al. 2012. Effects of Panax notoginseng (Chinese ginseng) and acute exercise on postprandial glycemia in non-diabetic adults. J Complement Integr Med.
Sievenpiper JL et al. 2004. Decreasing, null and increasing effects of eight popular types of ginseng on acute postprandial glycemic indices in healthy humans: the role of ginsenosides. J Am Coll Nutr.
Yuan CS et al. 2004. Brief communication: American ginseng reduces warfarin's effect in healthy patients: a randomized, controlled Trial. Ann Intern Med.
Flora of China, Panax notoginseng: http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200015251

Nothing here is medical advice. If you take prescription medication, talk with your doctor before adding notoginseng.