Ginseng conquers Europe thanks to Father Pierre Jartoux

Ginseng conquers Europe thanks to Father Pierre Jartoux

In the early 18th century, the Chinese emperor commissioned the French Jesuit priest Pierre Jartoux to make maps of vast regions of China. During his travels, the Jesuit priest arrived in a small village in Manchuria close to the border with Korea. The residents of the village presented him with ginseng root, which they gathered and chewed to improve their stamina, stimulate their physical and intellectual capabilities, ward off pulmonary diseases and stimulate the appetite. Observing the importance which the Chinese attached to it, Father Jartoux thought that the efficacy and usefulness of the plant had to be genuine. Consequently, he decided to test it by eating a piece of raw root. An hour later, he observed that his pulse had speeded up, his appetite was improved and that he felt better. So impressed was he by the plant that in 1711 he wrote a letter about it to the procurator general of the missions.
That’s how Europe also came to find out about ginseng, which first won over the royal courts, including that of Louis XIV. The scientific community also started to take an interest in the plant. Scientists wanted to know whether the effects attributed to this root could also be confirmed scientifically. Numerous laboratories, including some prestigious ones, carried out research on the effects of the Asian root. Research after research confirmed what the Chinese had long known, namely that ginseng was a particularly effective adaptogenic plant. Adaptogenic substances keep the body in a state of balance even when it is affected by various stresses. Taking these substances makes our bodies adapt better to stress and enables the body to maintain balance more easily during strenuous physical exertion. Adaptogenic substances act as stress regulators.