The Chinese and Korean golden herbs ginseng is way overrated. Just consume ginger instead of the 100x more expensive ginseng for all the recipes that people been come up over the centuries and the nutritional benefits probably the same if not better. It is essentially an overpriced souvenirs for your in-laws, that's it.
Care to provide details of the stimulant effect that you were experiencing?
I'm mainly referring on the nutritional and health benefits that the in-laws perceived if they were bought as souvenir a few thousands dollars worth of 1 kg ginseng as opposed to the equivalent of 1 kg ginger worth a few dollars [1],[2].
I recommend Examine.com for supplement literature reviews which are far more in-depth than Wikipedia.
"Research indicates that American ginseng may improve short-term working memory and reaction time, particularly at lower doses, and some positive results were noted in older adults and people with schizophrenia. However, the overall effectiveness on cognition remains uncertain because no significant improvements were found in verbal memory or attention."
