SÂM NGỌC LINH Là loại sâm quỹ được tìm thấy tại miền Trung Trung Bộ Việt Nam. Mọc tập trung ở các huyện miền núi Ngọc Linh. Thuộc huyện Đăk Tô tỉnh Kon Tum, huyện Nam Trà My tỉnh Quảng Nam. Ngoài Ngọc...

**Ngọc Linh Ginseng** Ngọc Linh ginseng is a rare type of ginseng found in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. It mainly grows in mountainous districts such as Ngọc Linh, which belongs to Đăk Tô district in Kon Tum province, and Nam Trà My district in Quảng Nam province. Besides Ngọc Linh, this ginseng is also distributed in Ngọc Lam Heo mountain in Phước Lộc commune, Phước Sơn district, and possibly at Ngọc Am peak in Quảng Nam province according to the latest survey results. It grows at altitudes ranging from 1,200 to 2,600 meters, densely forming under the cover of scattered trees along moist soil near streams. In 1973, the Central Health Sector sent a team of four members led by Dr. Đào Kim Long, including engineer Nguyễn Bà Hoạt, pharmacist Nguyễn Châu Giang, and pharmacist Trần Thanh Dân, to investigate and discover the ginseng plant at the foot of Ngọc Linh mountain in Đắc Tô district, Kon Tum province. Upon their arrival in Kon Tum, they received assistance from Nguyễn Thị Lê, a local guide to help them ascend Ngọc Linh mountain. After several days of crossing streams and forests, at 9 AM on March 19, 1973, at an altitude of 1,800 meters above sea level, the team discovered the first two ginseng plants. By the afternoon of the same day, they found a large area of ginseng on the western side of Ngọc Linh mountain. After 15 days of comprehensive research on morphology, ecology, population, distribution, migration, and dissemination, pharmacist Đào Kim Long identified Ngọc Linh mountain as the home of a new, especially rare ginseng species that had never been found anywhere else in the world. According to Dr. Trần Chí Liêm, Deputy Minister of Health of Vietnam, this discovery is an important contribution to science. It adds new knowledge about the distribution of the Panax genus down to latitude 15 and introduces a new species to the Araliaceae family, recognized as one of the best ginsengs in the world. Ngọc Linh ginseng is also the 20th type of ginseng discovered globally. Research conducted by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health in 1978 showed that the root of Ngọc Linh ginseng contains 26 known saponin compounds and 24 new saponins not found in other ginseng types, while Korean ginseng has about 25 saponins. Recent research results on the isolation of new chemical components have further expanded the list of saponins in Ngọc Linh ginseng to a total of 52 types. Thus, Vietnamese ginseng is one of the ginsengs with the highest saponin content. Similar to several rare ginseng plants that have been studied and used worldwide, the diverse chemical compounds and their practical effects on human health have led to Ngọc Linh ginseng being sold at increasingly high prices in the market, even exceeding Korean ginseng many times over.