Eleutherococcus
| Eleutherococcus | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| E. gracilistylus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Apiales |
| Family: | Araliaceae |
| Subfamily: | Aralioideae |
| Genus: |
Eleutherococcus Maxim. |
| Synonyms | |
Acanthopanax (Decne. & Planch.) Miq.
Eleutherococcus is a genus of 38 species of thorny shrubs and trees in the family Araliaceae. They are native to eastern Asia, from southeast Siberia and Japan to the Philippines and Vietnam. 18 species come from China, from central to western parts.
Perhaps the best known in the West is the species E. senticosus used as herbal medicine, and commonly known by such English names as Eleuthero or Siberian ginseng. In Traditional Chinese medicine, this is administered to increase energy, thus traditionally recognized to have attributes akin to true ginseng (Panax). This is also reflected in its formerly used genus name Acanthopanax meaning "thorny ginseng". The word "Eleutherococcus," from Greek, means "free-berried."
The European Medicines Agency has concluded that there is insufficient evidence to demonstrate the efficacy of Eleutherococcus for any clinical condition.
The Chinese materia medica in question (Chinese: 五加皮; pinyin: wǔjiāpí; Wade–Giles: wuchiapi) may designate a number of species. But the plant now given the common name wujia in China is specifically E. gracilistylus, and according to one source, the genuine crude drug must come from this species, and C. spinosum is only a substitute.
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Wikipedia