Processes of making North American ginseng fractions, products containing them, and use as immunomodulators

A process of preparing ginseng fraction PQ2, the process comprising:

• (a) combining American ginseng with a C1-C6 alcohol first solvent and heating the resulting solution at a temperature of about 80-100° C. for a time period of about 2-4 hours to produce a first ginseng solution;
• (b) thereafter separating the first ginseng solution to produce an alcohol/ginseng solution and a first ginseng residue;
• (c) thereafter combining the first ginseng residue with water and heating the resulting solution at a temperature of about 80-100° C. for a time period of about 2-4 hours to produce a ginseng residue solution;
• (d) thereafter separating the ginseng residue solution to produce a second ginseng residue and a first aqueous extract solution containing a first ginseng extract;
• (e) combining at least a part of the first ginseng extract and water to form a second aqueous extract solution, wherein in the second aqueous extract solution the proportion of the first ginseng extract to water is about 1:18 to 1:22;
• (f) thereafter combining the second aqueous extract solution with a second solvent comprising an alcohol, wherein the proportion of the second solvent to water is about 1:1 to 3:5, to produce a first precipitate and a first supernatant;
• (g) thereafter combining the first supernatant produced in step (f) with a third solvent comprising an alcohol, wherein the proportion of the third solvent to first supernatant is about 3:2 to 3:1, to produce a second precipitate and a second supernatant;
• and
• (h) isolating the second precipitate to produce ginseng fraction PQ2.