Some of our formulas call for ginseng (Chinese: 人参, 人蔘; pinyin rénshēn) and so include real ginseng, not the alternative called Codonopsis pilosula (Chinese: 党参; pinyin: dǎngshēn).

Although Codonopsis root is not a true ginseng, it does many of  the same things for the digestion as ginseng. It is better for many people as it is less “cloying” (clogging) of the system than ginseng.

Al Stone, the founder of Eagleherbs, argued that Ren Shen be used in all the formulas that may have used Dang Shen. In this, I disagree with my late, esteemed colleague. One reason is that there is a long debate about what was used in the classic formulas: Dang Shen or Ren Shen. Another is that we often have customers have often asked for the Dang Shen because of the (over) energizing and cloying of the Ren Shen. Check the ingredients on the page you are ordering from.

Sorry, Al, we are going to have to agree to disagree on this one.