Ngoc Linh ginseng, medical herbs centerpiece of exhibition

Kon Tum (VNA) – An exhibition focusing on Ngoc Linh ginseng and other medical herbs opened in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum on September 4.

The four-day event features 20 stalls of local enterprises and a number of firms from the Republic of Korea, the country also known far and wide in the world for gingseng.

It is part of activities aiming to develop the herbal medicine sector based on domestically-available materials, offering an opportunity for Kon Tum to popularise its herbal resources, seek partnerships, and exchange experience in the field.

Forest coverage amounts to 62.3 percent of the total area in Kon Tum, creating a diverse source of natural herbs, such as Ngoc Linh gingseng, dang shen, Anoectochilus setaceus, and five-flavor berry.

The Ngoc Linh ginseng (Panax vietnamensis, or Vietnamese ginseng), a rare medical root containing 52 saponin compounds helpful to health, was found on Ngoc Linh Mountain on the boundary between Kon Tum and the central province of Quang Nam in the late 1960s.

In June 2017, Ngoc Linh ginseng was included in the list of national products by the Prime Minister.

Kon Tum built a conservation centre for the Ngoc Linh ginseng in 2004. The province now has more than 400 hectares of the ginseng, of which over 320 ha are managed by the Kon Tum Ngoc Linh ginseng joint stock company. The plantation is for preservation and expansion, with products from local Ngoc Linh ginseng yet to be available in the market.-VNA