'Rescuing' ginseng with tissue culture

The Areca ginseng plant contains many precious medicinal substances such as saponins, flavonoids. which have been successfully propagated by scientists using tissue culture technology.

The ginseng plant has the scientific name Curculigo orchioides Gaertn , belonging to the Hypoxidaceae family. The plant also has other names such as Tiem mao, Ngai cau, Co noclan . it used to grow a lot in the wild.

Studies show that this tree has many valuable compounds , used by traditional medicine in the treatment of male physiological diseases, asthma, diarrhea, hypoglycemia, chronic nephritis, anti-cancer and skin diseases. That's why in the 1980s this species of ginseng was exploited on a large scale and was included in the Red Book and the Red List of Vietnamese medicinal plants.

To increase economic value and conservation, the research team at the High-Tech Agricultural Business Incubation Center, Ho Chi Minh City High-Tech Agricultural Park (hamlet 1, Pham Van Coi commune, Cu Chi district) has sought to Tissue culture maintains valuable medicinal resources.

Areca ginseng is grown using tissue culture varieties. (Photo: NVCC).

Engineer Le Thi Hong Ngoc, Deputy Head of Plant Technology Support Department, Representative of the research team, said that after nearly a year the team had successfully cultured the plant in the laboratory. This variety was experimentally planted on an area of ​​1,000 square meters ⁱⁿ Cu Chi district.

Tissue plants are grown in polybags and placed in nurseries to help them gradually get used to natural conditions. The group built a process for growing ginseng and areca in about a year before harvesting.

According to the research team , ginseng is a shade-tolerant plant, so it needs to be shaded. The level of shading with a sun-cutting net at 50% is most suitable for plants to grow, develop and achieve optimal productivity. The ideal living environment of Cau ginseng is under the shade, preferring humidity in valleys, fertile soil, limestone mountain foothills or on the edge of fields. Cau ginseng can be planted at a density of 50,000 trees for an area of ​​1,000 m2.

Experimental garden growing ginseng and areca of the research group. (Photo: NVCC).

According to engineer Ngoc, during the tuber development stage, the amount of water and soil moisture need to be strictly controlled, especially during the rainy season. "The areca ginseng root is very susceptible to rot when flooded or the soil has too much moisture, so during the soil preparation process, it is necessary to create drainage ditches and moveable sunshades," engineer Ngoc said.

After one year of planting, farmers can dig up the plants, cut the roots, and wash them. Cau ginseng can be used fresh or pre-processed and preserved, the average weight of each ginseng root is 60-65 g. Saponin content reaches 0.54 - 0.68%, flavonoids 0.19 - 0.23% and curculigoside 0.23 -0.31%.

Areca ginseng when purchased at the garden costs about 150,000 VND per kg. Calculated according to the average yield of 3.1 tons for 1,000m2 ^, the income can be about 467 million VND per crop. Total production cost is 416 million VND per crop, helping farmers earn more than 51 million VND in profit. After one year of planting, the farmer is profitable.

After harvesting the tubers, the shoots can be used for replanting, helping to save production costs for the next crop. According to the research team, Ho Chi Minh City area, neighboring provinces or areas with similar natural conditions can grow ginseng and areca nut with this method.

Areca ginseng roots are harvested using tissue culture varieties. (Photo: NVCC).

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue, Deputy Director of the High-tech Agricultural Business Incubation Center, assessed that the research showed feasible results, bringing economic and social value. In the near future, the unit will deploy the model to serve tours and study sessions and be ready to transfer this technology to organizations or individuals in need.