Many natural Puxailaileng ginseng plants were found in Nghe An.
After a long time of fieldwork in deep forests and high mountains, a group of officers from the Department of Science and Technology of Nghe An found Puxailaileng ginseng in the wild and brought it back for experimental planting in Tay Son commune (Ky Son).
Puxailaileng ginseng is a rare ginseng belonging to the Araliaceae family found in the Puxailaileng highlands of the Truong Son range, where forest cover is over 80%. Currently, Puxailaileng ginseng in the wild is increasingly scarce and is facing the risk of extinction.
Therefore, the discovery of ginseng species of the genus Panax in the high mountains of Puxailaileng in Nghe An is of great scientific and practical significance. Immediately after finding this precious ginseng, the ginseng sample was analyzed for its agrobiological characteristics, medicinal value, propagation and planting methods... of the species.
According to the analysis data, the moisture and free sugar content of the two Puxailaileng ginseng samples are higher than that of Ngoc Linh ginseng; Puxailaileng ginseng has quite high levels of saponin compounds Ginsenosid Rg1, Ginsenosid Rb1 and Majonosid R2. Currently, Puxailaileng ginseng is very rare in nature.
Previously, some plants were transferred to TH Group to plant in Ky Son. Therefore, the Department of Science and Technology is focusing on research, conservation, exploitation and development of rare genetic resources to develop this medicinal plant species into a valuable medicinal herb of Nghe An mountainous region.
Mr. Nguyen Quy Linh, Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Nghe An, said: "Puxailaileng ginseng grows on Puxailaileng mountain, which is more than 2,700m above sea level. Scientists have assessed that its quality is not inferior to Ngoc Linh ginseng in Quang Nam and Kon Tum.
Puxailaileng ginseng can be propagated and grow well if planted in cool temperate climate areas, at an altitude of 1,000m or more above sea level in Ky Son district. Currently, we are conducting experimental planting in Tay Son commune. In the near future, we will conduct cell tissue propagation.
At the same time, we are building a smart farm system (Smart Farm) in Thai Hoa town and growing Puxailaileng ginseng in greenhouses. With the goal of evaluating the survival rate, growth and development ability and active ingredient content of Puxailaileng ginseng, contributing to the conservation of the genetic resources of this rare and valuable medicinal plant.
According to the “Program for developing Vietnamese ginseng to 2030, with a vision to 2045”, Nghe An’s Puxailaileng ginseng is subject to conservation, cultivation, and experimental scale development. Also according to this program, Nghe An is a locality that is allowed to build an in situ conservation area and an ex situ collection garden for Vietnamese ginseng genetic resources; build a database system on conservation and development of genetic resources of Vietnamese ginseng species and is one of the localities allowed to cultivate and develop raw ginseng areas.
Analyzing the morphology of ginseng plants shows that the collected ginseng samples are very similar to Ngoc Linh ginseng (Panax vietnamensis). Puxailaileng ginseng has two types of stems: vertical aerial stems, green or slightly purple, small, with a diameter of 4-8mm, often withering every year. The rhizome has a diameter of 1-2cm, growing horizontally on the surface of the soil or underground at a depth of 1-5cm, carrying many branch roots and tubers. The aerial stems bear leaves and each leaf-bearing stem is a node (mắc), the tuber is about 5-30mm long. The stem nodes grow in the same direction (in wild Panax vietnamensis, they often grow alternately). The plant sprouts and produces new leaves from about November to March of the following year. Young plants have only one leaf that does not fall off during the 1st-3rd year and only from the 4th year onwards does it have 2-3 more leaves. Trees 5 years old and older produce single umbels of flowers growing under the leaves straight with the stem, the umbel stalk is 10-20cm long, can be accompanied by 1-4 secondary umbels or a single flower below the main umbel. Each umbel has 60-100 flowers. The fruit grows concentrated in the center of the canopy, about 0.8-1cm long and about 0.5-0.6cm wide.
