From
remote days the Koryo insam
of Kaesong has enjoyed worldwide fame as an elixir of life.
It
was grown mostly in the Kaesong area, hence it was
named
“Koryo insam
of Kaesong” or “Kaesong insam”.
The
roots of insam
usually resemble the form of human body.
In
insam
“in” means man and “sam” thick root.
Insam
means panacea or cure-all.
It
was named “Koryo insam”
when it was widely exported during the Koryo Dynasty (918-1392).
It
was known as a special remedy from
the period of the Three Kingdoms of Korea and used as the most
effective elixir of life during the Koryo Dynasty and the Feudal
Joson Dynasty (1392-1910).
Insam
helps a return to normal of the functions of the nerve, immune and
endocrine systems of human body.
With
a growing demand for wild insam
it began to be grown from
the period of
the
Koryo Dynasty and, thereafter, the artificial cultivation method
developed into field cultivation
in the late 17th
century.
The
Kaesong area became the centre of insam
cultivation and processing because the area had the particular soil
and climatic conditions for growing insam
and a developed commerce.
Insam
dislikes strong sunlight and likes most the sunlight permeating
through branches and leaves in the forest.
A
perennial medicinal plant of Araliaceae,
insam
propagates with seeds.
It
blossoms and bears fruit 3 or 4 years after seeding and roots are
usable in the sixth year.
According
to the methods of processing, Koryo insam
is divided into different kinds.
Unprocessed
roots are called susam
(fresh insam)
and roots washed with water, and dried in the sunlight
with hairy roots and outer skin removed are called paeksam
(white insam).
Susam
steamed without outer skin and dried in the sunlight
is called hongsam
(red insam)
and susam
boiled down in thick sugar liquid without hairy roots is called
tangsam
(sweet insam).
Hairy
roots of susam
dried in the sunlight
are called misam
(hairy root insam).
Insam
is used as tonic medicine against asthenia and for convalescence and
recovery from physical and mental fatigue.
It
is effective against anorexia, indigestion, diarrhea, chronic
gastritis, atrophy, diabetes, palpitation of the heart, insomnia, low
blood pressure, sexual disinclination, anemia, hepatitis and other
diseases.
Recently,
it is used against cancer.
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