One of the most popular herbs—Rhodiola Rosea Extract
Rhodiola extract is an extract of rhodiola root. The main ingredients are salidroside, glycoside tyrosol and loxovir, which have the effects of enhancing immune function, protecting cardiovascular and cerebrovascular, and anti-cancer and anti-depression.
Rhodiola (also known as arctic root, golden root) is one of the plants in the family rhodiola, which is native to the eastern Siberian Arctic Circle. Rhodiola is widely distributed in the polar and mountainous regions of Europe and Asia. It grows at elevations from 11,000 to 18,000 feet above sea level. Rhodiola was classified by Soviet scientists as an adaptation for its ability to increase a variety of chemical, biological and physical stresses. The term adaptogen was coined in 1947 by a Soviet scientist named lazarev. He defines an “adaptor” as a drug that enables an organism to neutralize adverse physical, chemical, or biological stress by producing nonspecific resistance. Rhodiola has been intensively studied in the Soviet union and Scandinavia for more than 35 years. Similar to other plant adaptations studied by Soviet scientists, rhodiola extracts led to beneficial changes in a variety of physiological functions in different areas, including neurotransmitter levels, central nervous system activity and cardiovascular function.
Rhodiola has been used in traditional herbs in the carpathian mountains of China, Siberia and Ukraine. In the former Soviet union, it was used as an adaptor to reduce fatigue and increase the body’s natural resistance to various stresses. In Siberia, it is said, “insist on drinking rhodiola tea can live more than 100 years.” Rhodiola has also traditionally been used for sexual dysfunction in men and women. One popular preparation of the herb in the former Soviet union was a tincture called nastojka, made by mixing fresh rhodiola root with 40% alcohol and leaving it for a week. One teaspoon of “nastojka” after each meal is prescribed for patients with sexual dysfunction. In Siberia, especially in the cold, wet winter, people often take rhodiola to prevent disease. In Mongolia, it is used to treat tuberculosis and cancer.
Rhodiola mainly contains phenylpropyl ester and flavonoids. Its unique active chemical components are phenylpropyl ester,rosavin(the most active), rosin, rosarin, rhodiolin, salidroside and its glycosides, namely, tyrosol. Only rhodiola rosea contains rosavin,rosin and rosarin.
Rosavins stimulate the immune system in two ways: first, through direct, specialized stimulation of immune defenses (by stimulating one of the most important types of immune cells: Natural killer cells). NK- cells search and destroy the body’s infected cells. Rhodiola extract improves t-cell immunity and normalises the immune system. This shows that it can improve the body’s resistance to the accumulation of toxins as the infection progresses. Second, make the body not to be affected by pressure. When we’re exposed to stress for long periods of time, and we’re constantly stealing energy from other systems, the overall effect is a decreased immune response and poorer health. Rhodiola extracts also enhance B cell immunity by preventing the suppression of B cell immunity due to stress and fatigue.
In animal experiments, extracts of rhodiola rosea called rosavin and salidroside have been shown to increase the rate at which serotonin precursors, tryptophan and 5-hydroxytryptophan are delivered to the brain. Serotonin is one of the most widely studied neurotransmitters in the brain. Unstable serotonin has been linked to a variety of abnormal mental states such as clinical depression. As a result, rhodiola was used by Soviet scientists alone or in combination with antidepressants to boost one’s mental state, becoming a valuable medicine for those who lived in countries and seasons where the months were prolonged and the sun did not get enough light. (SAD, for example, is seasonal depression, which is common in northern European countries.) in a public clinical trial examining the effectiveness of rhodiola extract in reducing depressive symptoms, 128 patients were given rhodiola extract. Rhodiola extract significantly reduced or removed depressive symptoms in 65% of patients.
