How to distinguish true and false red ginseng

Red ginseng is a skin care product, and many people like to buy this thing to protect the body. However, the red ginseng currently on the market is not necessarily genuine, and there are many fakes flooding the market. Therefore, when buying red ginseng, everyone needs to be discerning. Below I will introduce some methods to distinguish the authenticity of red ginseng.

1. General identification of red ginseng: The sensory characteristics of red ginseng are generally ginseng stalks, detailed body, total length 6 to 17 cm, body (main stem) length 5 to 10 cm, diameter 0.5 to 2 cm, light brown, brown or dark brown surface, transparent to light; some are not completely transparent, showing dark yellow soft spots. The upper "shoulder" is blunt and rounded, connected to the rhizome (underground stem). The reed head is relatively short, with a discernible stem mark on the top and 2 to 3 lateral roots below. Annular marks can be seen at the upper end of the body, and the epidermis has wrinkles, longitudinal grooves and fine root marks. The ginseng whiskers have been removed. It is hard and brittle, with a smooth, bright fracture surface, cuticle-like, brown-red; the neutral color is slightly lighter, and the jugular color is darker.

2. Identification of decorative red ginseng: Its shape, color, transparent cuticle pattern, etc. are similar to those of ordinary red ginseng, but its unique characteristics are its long stem, long body, and long legs ("three lengths"). Because the raw material ginseng has a long planting period (7 to 9 years), the upper part of the body is darker and less smooth, the shoulder has obvious longitudinal lines, and the overall characteristic is "more skin and flesh" (refer to the first section of this chapter), with 2 to 3 branch roots.

3. Identification of special red ginseng: short stem, solid texture, dark color, and the ability to suppress imprints. Its area is more than 40% smaller than that of ordinary red ginseng, and its relative density is increased by 1 times (from 0.8g·cm-3 to 1.6g·cm-2). A single root is an irregular long prism with obvious embossing, 9 to 16 cm long, with a shorter reed (after the reed shrinking process, part of it is "shrunk" into the shoulder), and 2 to 3 trimmed lateral roots. The surface is brown-red and shiny, the shoulders are lighter in color and have ring patterns; the epidermis has fine longitudinal wrinkles, without grooves, yellow skin or scars. It is hard and brittle, with a flat, bright, delicate, non-porosity, and stratum corneum-like cross section.