Rhodiola Rosea: The Ultimate Adaptogen

Of particular interest is Rhodiola's well-documented qualities as an adaptogen (an endurance enhancer). In this capacity it appears to help the body stay healthy and perform in top-notch condition despite physical exhaustion or environmental stresses, such as high heat or pollutants in the air and water.

In 1969 Soviet scientists, Brekhman and Dardymov defined a new class of beneficial plant extracts: the adaptogens. After reviewing the literature on almost 200 medicinal plants, they identified five (including Rhodiola rosea) that met the definition of an adaptogen. An adaptogen should be harmless and not cause significant disturbance of normal physiological functions. The action of an adaptogen should be nonspecific, increasing resistance to a wide range of adverse influences of diverse chemical, physical or biological nature. An adaptogen must possess normalizing influence regardless of the direction of pathological changes —if a variable (e.g., blood pressure or heart rate) is too high it must lower it, and if it is too low, it must raise it. Brekhman and Dardymov and all Russian researchers since consider Rhodiola rosea to be the model of an adaptogen that met all three criteria to the fullest extent.

The adaptogenic benefits of Rhodiola rosea extract, verified in the human and animal trials, is summarized as follows:

1) improves memory and mental performance, and has anti-fatigue, anti-stress and antidepressant properties;

2) improves physical performance, reducing exhaustion and accelerating recovery after heavy training workloads, and increases muscle energy production, protein synthesis and anabolic activity;

3) improves erectile dysfunction and/or premature ejaculation in men;

4) activates lipolytic (fat breakdown) processes and mobilizes fat from adipose tissue;

5) reduces or prevents stress-induced heart damage;

6) reduces liver toxicity from various anticancer drugs while enhancing their anticancer action;

7) enhances thyroid function without causing hyperthyroidism, protects the thymus gland from the shrinkage that comes with stress and aging, and increases adrenal gland reserve without causing adrenal hypertrophy;

8) has antioxidant effects, reducing lipid peroxidation and preventing intestinal damage after acute x-ray exposure; and

9) is incredibly safe (humans of 235 grams for a 154-pound person).

Rhodiola rosea would be classified as an adaptogen meaning that it has a nonspecific ability to assist the body to withstand stress and maintain normalcy even when threatened with pathological conditions. As such it is similar to a number of other herbs classified as adaptogenic including: Siberian ginseng, Reishi mushroom, Ginseng, Codonopsis and Ashwagandha. In Siberia it is said that "those who drink rhodiola tea regularly will live more than 100 years." Chinese emperors always looking for the secret to long life and immortality sent expeditions into Siberia to collect and bring back the plant. Being one of the most popular medicinal herbs of middle Asia, for many years Rhodiola was illegally trafficked across the Russian border to China.

In Siberia it was taken regularly especially during the cold and wet winters to prevent sickness. In Mongolia it was used for the treatment of tuberculosis and cancer. Formerly regarded as a scarce plant, researchers from Tomsk State University found significant stands of this valuable herb growing wild in Siberia at elevations of 5000 to 9000 feet above sea level. Subsequent research has substantiated high life giving biological activity with no toxicity.