Vietnam to invest in Panax Ginseng Extract embryogenesis

The Vietnamese government will invest VND1.7 billion (US$105,400) in a project to reproduce a type of local Panax Ginseng Extract which is in danger of extinction, according to the Central Highlands Biological Institute. The project would replicate Ngoc Linh Ginseng (Panax vietnamensis) through embryogenesis, a process of sexual or asexual plant reproduction, said Duong Tan Nhut, deputy head of the institute. Nhut has already produced some 300 ginsengs using the process. 50 percent of them were transferred to natural environments successfully. Ngoc Linh Ginseng grows in the south-central and Central Highlands regions of Vietnam, especially in Ngoc Linh Mountain in the provinces of Kon Tum and Quang Nam. Its extract has been found to stimulate the body in cases of physical, mental and sexual asthenia, enhance physical strength, immunity and reduce fatigue. The ginseng has been exploited heavily over the past few years because of its medicinal qualities.