Rhodiola Benefits, Usage, Medicinal Properties, Nutrition, Dosage, Preparations, safety, science backed and traditional view

Rhodiola – Rhodiola rosea – (L.) also known as Rose root, Golden Root, Aaron’s Rod, Arctic Root, King’s Crown, Lignum rhodium, Orpin Rose.

 

Rhodiola rosea is one of 90 Rhodiola species, 60 of which are found in China, and 30 of which are found in Tibet. It is a perennial that can grow to be 12 to 30 inches tall and produces red, pink, or yellow blossoms. It has two series of stamens totalling twice the number of petals and a basal rosette of leaves. Rhodiola likes the cold, mountainous, arctic regions of Europe and Asia. It thrives on dry, rocky, or sandy soils at high altitudes. It also grows in Alaska, Canada, and California.

 

Part used: Root, Rhizome, Shoot, Leaf, Stem​

Note: Rhodiola is one of most often adulterated herbs according to American Botanical Council, some market research says that even up to 85% of over-the-counter sale in EU/UK/USA can be adulterated or to poor quality to have medicinal effect. Make sure that you get your products from supplier who follows GMP procedure.

 

Constituents: phenols, rosavin, rosin, rosarin, organic acids, terpenoids, phenolic acids and their derivatives, flavonoids, anthraquinones, alkaloids, tyrosol, and salidroside.

 

Flavour/Temps: root/rhizome- Somewhat Bitter, Pungent, Sour, Astringent; Dry, Cool

Leaf/steam - Bitter, Astringent, Cold

Astringing, Calming, Restoring, Stimulating

 

Tropism: Liver, Brain, Nerves, Lungs, Reproductive Organs, Endocrine, Immune, Cardiovascular, Fluid/Air bodies

 

Meridians: Lung, Spleen, Liver, Heart, Kidney, dai,  chong, ren, yang wei, du

 

Key actions in western medicine: Restorative, Adaptogenic, Cardiotonic, Stimulant, Anti-inflammatory, Antihypoxic, Antidepressant, Anticancer, Antiaging, Antihypertensive, Antiviral, Hepatoprotective, Immunomodulatory, Hypolipidemic, Neuroprotective

 

Indications in western medicine: stress, lethargy, schizophrenia, depression, PMS, Menopause, anxiety, anaemia, debility, lung infections, Oestrogen or testosterone deficiency including long or irregular cycles, amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea. Headaches, physical weakness, muscle recovery, cognitive function, memory, fatigue, palpitations associated with stress or anxiety, ischemic heart disease, impotence, frigidity, infertility, and premature ejaculation. Pancreas, Thyroid, Thymus, and ovaries chronic and acute immunodeficiency conditions. Gastroenteritis, dysentery, leukorrhea. Hiv/Aids, during chemo and radiotherapy for cancer,

 

Key actions in eastern medicine: Tonifies Lung Qi, Clears Heat, Nourishes Lung Yin, Tonifies the Kidney, Supports Yang, Tonifies Spleen Qi, Moves Blood, Clears Channels, Stops Bleeding, Calms Shen, Tonifies Heart Qi, Tonifies Qi blood and essence, Tonifies reproductive QI

 

Indications in eastern medicine: heart Qi deficiency, Uterus blood and Qi deficiency, large intestine damp-heat, nerve and brain deficiency with mind weakness, Kidney yang deficiency (Reproductive Qi deficiency) with damp, Neuroendocrine deficiency (Qi, Blood and Essence deficiency) Coughs, shortness of breath, chronic diseases, childhood development, tuberculosis, bronchitis, pneumonia, haemoptysis, hematemesis, adjunct cancer treatment, brain fog, fibromyalgia, leukorrhea, wheezing, hypertension, low back pain, arthritis, stamina, stress-related insomnia, general symptoms associated with stress, mental fatigue, chronic fatigue, muscle recovery, protects the brain and central nervous system,  poor appetite, anaemia, irritability, headaches, fatigue, used topically to treat blood stagnation from traumatic injury and burns, chest pain, palpitations, longevity.

 

Preparations: decoction, tincture, powder

Note: Tincture and decoctions are best preparation of rhodiola, powder is poor alternative.

 

Dosage usually 3 times daily unless instructed otherwise by Herbalist:

Decoction and powder 1-3g

Tincture 0.25ml - 2 ml, 1:3, 45% ethanol

Note: Larger doses have more mentally calming effect, while small to medium doses are restorative.

Note: Buhner is suggesting use 1:5 tincture, 50% ethanol (45% ethanol is well proven as right solvent), with dose range 1ml-5ml, low dose as restorative tonic; high doses for acute infection taken 20-30 days

 

Synergy examples: Rhodiola with Ashwagandha – stress managing and promoting overall wellbeing

Rhodiola and caffeine - multi-level studies have shown that Rhodiola rosea and caffeine enhanced physical performance in resistance exercise both untrained and trained subjects.

Rhodiola and Hawthorn – cardiac restorative.

 

Cautions: Rhodiola is mild remedy with minimal chronic toxicity.

Rhodiola has mild sedative effect on nerves in anxiety, depression, etc. but it is also nerve stimulant and should be used with great caution or avoided at all in conditions of emotional or mental agitation (like manic phase of bipolar disorder).

Take away from mineral supplements.

Concurrent use with other stimulants best to be avoided during therapy, unless for enchanting physical performance in sports.

 

Contradictions:  none known

 

Interactions with drugs: none known

 

Side effects: none expected at recommended dose range.

 

History and folklore:

While the roots and rhizomes are used as a tonic herb popular in Russia, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Asia, the shoots, leaves, and stems are also edible, though slightly bitter, and can be consumed raw or cooked.

In Asia, rhodiola tea is a popular cold, lung infection, and asthma remedy. In Tibet, the herb is useful in aiding proper childhood development and growth. Today the herb is also used as an adjunct herb for treating cancer.

Rhodiola contains the compound rosavin which is unique to rhodiola within the Rhodiola plant family, and which is known for modulating the levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, raising it or lowering it as needed. The herb helps protect the heart and liver and increases oxygen which in turn helps to improve memory and attention span.

Research reveals that rhodiola significantly improves physical fitness, reduces mental fatigue, and improves the neuro-motoric performance of students during exam periods. The herb is known for improving sleep, reducing stress, increasing appetite, and treating hypertension. It is considered a longevity and powerful adaptogenic herb. The herb is known to contain over 140 active ingredients!

While rhodiola can help improve sleep as a symptom associated with stress, it is best known as a stimulating and uplifting herb. It can make some people feel “hyper or revved” up, so use it early in the day to help prevent interference with sleeping at night. If you are a coffee drinker or enjoy sodas and other beverages already full of caffeine, taking rhodiola simultaneously with these kinds of caffeinated drinks may create restlessness or agitation.

 

Rhodiola has been and continues to be studied for its significant anticancer properties. It has been shown to effectively stimulate the immune response, and the compound, salidroside, found in rhodiola is known to inhibit the growth of bladder cancer.

Students who took rhodiola an hour before exams experienced increased endurance and improved mental stamina.

Rhodiola can be blended with astragalus, lycium/goji berries, schisandra, and ginseng for a wonderful tea that can help build Qi. For fighting colds and treating coughs it is often combined with licorice. Rhodiola has a bittersweet, with astringent mouthfeel.

Research confirms that rhodiola has a similar impact on treating depression as the pharmaceutical Zoloft without the side effects.

 

Absorption: The bioavailability of salidroside, a constituent of rhodiola, was 32.1% in animal research. When administered at a dose of 12 mg/kg, the peak serum concentration of salidroside was 4.3 mcg/mL when given orally and 27.9 mcg/mL when administered intravenously to rats. In dogs, the peak serum concentration of salidroside was 96.16 mcg/mL when administered intravenously at a dose of 75 mg/mL.

Excretion: When administered at a dose of 12 mg/kg, the mean residence time of salidroside was 41.7 minutes when given orally and 17.9 minutes when administered intravenously to rats. When administered intravenously to dogs, the half-life of salidroside 75 mg/kg was reported to be around 2 hours.

Animal studies are reported to show protection from stressors such as cold and radiation, increased work capacity, decreased fatigue, and improved learning and memory

Preliminary evidence from animal research suggests that rhodiola may increase life span by reducing oxidative stress. Also, salidroside, a constituent of rhodiola, protects human fibroblast cells from premature aging by modulating oxidative status

Rhodiola extracts demonstrate antiarrhythmic properties and protection against reperfusion injury after ischemia. These effects can be abolished by naloxone infusion, suggesting that the mechanism might involve an increase in endogenous opioids

Rhodiola extract has antimicrobial activity. Extracts inhibit Staphylococcus aureus in vitro. When administered to pneumonia patients in combination with standard antibiotic therapy, rhodiola appears to reduce the duration of the acute phase of the disease by about 2 days compared to treatment with standard antibiotic therapy alone.

It has been used in Iceland, Russia, and Scandinavia to help build stamina and treat those who suffer from SADs (Seasonal Affective Disorder). This condition triggers depression-like symptoms due to inadequate sunlight in the fall and winter seasons. A study published in 2007 in the Nordic Journal of Psychiatry showed patients with mild-to-moderate depression who used rhodiola extract reported fewer symptoms of depression than those who took the placebo.

Rhodiola seems to have anticancer activity. In vitro, rhodiola extracts inhibit prostate and liver cancer cell lines. Rhodiola extract also reduces experimentally induced mutations, possibly by increasing the efficiency of intracellular DNA repair mechanisms. In animals, rhodiola extract decreases tumor regrowth and metastases in rats with Pliss lymphosarcoma following partial hepatectomy. Rhodiola extracts also demonstrate myeloprotective effects against cyclophosphamide toxicity. In vitro, the rhodiola constituent salidroside appears to inhibit the growth of oestrogen receptor-negative breast cancer cell lines, as well as other human cancer cell lines, by inducing cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis.

Animal research suggests that rhodiola may improve mood by regulating the activity of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Compounds isolated from rhodiola roots appear to inhibit monoamine oxidase A in vitro. Active compounds that have been associated with the antidepressant effects of rhodiola include rhodioloside, salidroside, and tyrosol.

Rhodiola might have beneficial effects in diabetes patients. In animal models of diabetes, a rhodiola extract decreases blood glucose and has antioxidant effects demonstrated by reduced lipid peroxidation and increased levels of reduced glutathione. Extracts of rhodiola, used alone or in combination with cranberry, also significantly inhibit alpha-glucosidase activity. The rhodiola component salidroside has been shown to stimulate glucose uptake in muscle cells by activating AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and increasing the phosphorylation of AMPK and ACC in vitro

The rhodiola constituent salidroside has been found to protect neuronal pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells against hypoxia/re-oxygenation injury in vitro.Other in vitro evidence suggests that salidroside reduces erythroblasts apoptosis caused by the hormone erythropoietin, which is released by the kidneys when tissue oxygen levels are decreased, and protects erythroblasts against hydrogen peroxide, which accumulates in cells in response to oxygen deprivation. In addition, salidroside appears to protect endothelial cells against apoptosis induced by cobalt chloride, a hypoxia-mimicking agent, possibly via antioxidant effects 

Most preliminary evidence suggests that rhodiola extract has antioxidant effects, which may be higher than other adaptogens such as Indian gooseberry or Siberian ginseng. In vitro evidence suggests that rhodiola root extract protects keratinocytes against oxidative stress. Rhodiola root extract also appears to protect erythrocytes against hypochlorous acid-induced oxidative damage by protecting against glutathione (GSH) depletion, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) inactivation, and hemolysis. Animal research suggests that rhodiola extract increases reduced glutathione levels in the liver of diabetic mice. It also appears to protect against streptozotocin-induced neuronal damage in rats by increasing malondialdehyde (MDA) and reducing glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione (GSH) levels in rats. Other laboratory evidence conducted in fruit flies suggests that rhodiola extract protects against oxidative stress by decreasing endogenous superoxide levels. However, some in vitro evidence suggests that rhodiola root extract protects against oxidative stress without activating antioxidant defences. The rhodiola constituent salidroside decreases apoptosis of neuroblastoma cells exposed to hydrogen peroxide in vitro, suggesting that it might protect against neurodegenerative diseases associated with oxidative stress. Also, salidroside protects against 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP(+))- induced apoptosis in pheochromocytoma cells in vitro by inhibiting the nitric oxide pathway. Evidence from animal research suggests that salidroside protects against acetaminophen-induced liver toxicity by preventing and alleviating intracellular GSH depletion and oxidative damage

Salidroside, a constituent of rhodiola, appears to protect against beta-amyloid-induced oxidative stress in human neuroblastoma cells, suggesting that it may help prevent or treat neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease

In mice, rhodiola extract significantly induced anxiolytic-like effects

 

For improving athletic performance, rhodiola is theorized to improve adenosine triphosphate (ATP) turnover in muscle. However, a study in healthy athletes found no effect on muscle ATP during exhausting exercise. Rhodiola extract has also been shown to reduce C-reactive protein and creatinine kinase levels following exhausting exercise, suggesting that it may protect muscle tissue from exercise-induced damage. Animal research suggests that rhodiola may protect against oxidative stress induced by exercises such as swimming and increase glycogen content during exhaustive exercises, which may improve athletic performance. Some animal research suggests that administering rhodiola extract with maral root extract, in conjunction with resistance training, increases protein synthesis, mechanical power output, and type I to type II muscle fiber ratio in trained muscles, but does not improve muscle mass, when compared with placebo. Another animal study in rats suggests rhodiola combined with caffeine improves grip strength, erythropoietin and dopamine levels, and rate of oxygen consumption 

Rhodiola appears to have significant central nervous system activity. In animal models, a rhodiola extract containing 3% rosavin and 1% salidroside has antidepressant, anxiolytic, and stimulant effects. There is some interest in using rhodiola for symptoms of hypothyroidism, due to its antidepressant, antioxidant, and fatigue-reducing effects; however, this theory has not been tested in humans. In animal models, the salidroside constituent also has sedative effects. Rhodiola extracts also demonstrate potential for improving learning and memory

A single dose of rhodiola before maze training facilitated some aspects of learning and memory in animals

 In humans with bladder cancer, rhodiola extract has been shown to improve parameters of leukocyte integrins and T cell immunity. Also, taking a combination of dried ethanol/water extracts from maral root, rhodiola root, Siberian ginseng root, and schisandra fruit (AdMax) increased numbers of CD3, CD4, CD5, and CD8 T cell subclasses, as well as IgG and IgM, in patients who completed chemotherapy

Rhodiola root extract appears to inhibit the activity of monoamine oxidase B (MAOB) in vitro, which suggests that it may have protective effects against MAOB-related neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease or Alzheimer's. Animal research suggests that rhodiola extract protects against cognitive deficits and neuronal injury caused by intracerebroventricular streptozotocin in a rat model of Alzheimer's disease. This effect has been attributed to the antioxidant activity or rhodiola

 

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