Rhodiola Rosea root Tibet Wild Golden Root Adaptogen hong jing tian
LATIN NAME: RHODIOLA ROSEA
COMMON NAME: Rhodiola, Golden Root
The Rhodiola rosea, or rhodiola, is one of the most famous and widely used of the adaptogenic plants, and its thick, fleshy, rose-scented roots and its tolerance of the cold, the high altitude and the harsh conditions have made it a plant of the arctic and the mountain regions and the traditional medicine across the regions of the Eurasia and the North America. It grows as a low, perennial, succulent herb of the stonecrop family, with the thick, fleshy, rose-scented root and the low, branching stems bearing the fleshy, bright-green, oval leaves, and bearing, in the summer, the clusters of the small, yellow, four-petalled flowers at the tops of the stems. It is a species of the flowering herb, native to the arctic and the mountain regions of the Eurasia and the North America, while it has been used in the traditions for its roots for a very long time, and it is known as the rhodiola or the golden root.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The rhodiola has a real and distinguished place in research. It has been studied in the chemistry and the natural-products science, since the Rhodiola rosea contains a range of compounds including the rosavins and the salidroside in its roots, and the researchers have examined the roots, their constituents and their composition, while the study of the adaptogenic plants has drawn attention in the international natural-products press, and the plant is best appreciated as a subject of study and a traditional material rather than a casual remedy. The plant has also been studied in the horticulture and the alpine-garden science, since the rhodiola is a popular, hardy, succulent herb for the alpine garden and the rock garden, and the researchers have examined its cultivation, its propagation and its value in the landscape, while the study of the alpine plants has been of continuing interest. The species has also been studied in the ecology, since it is a plant of the arctic and the mountain regions and a part of the harsh alpine ecosystems, and its adaptation to the cold and the high altitude has been examined, while the fleshy, rose-scented roots and the yellow flowers of the rhodiola have been of interest to the botanists and the ethnobotanists. For a plant of such hardiness, the Rhodiola rosea has a rich and distinguished record of research.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
To grow the Rhodiola from seed, the rhodiola is a low, perennial, succulent herb of the arctic and the mountain regions, bearing the fleshy, bright-green leaves and the clusters of the small, yellow flowers in the summer. Its yellow flowers feed the bees and the other pollinators of the high altitudes, and its low, hardy habit gives a fine presence in the alpine garden and the rock garden, while its thick, rose-scented roots are a traditional material in the Eurasian medicine. Its economic value is real: the rhodiola is prized for its roots used in the traditional medicine and as a hardy, succulent herb for the alpine garden, and its value has drawn attention in the international natural-products and horticultural press, while the rose-scented roots and the easy cultivation have made it a favourite of the medicinal gardens and the alpine gardens, and the plant is a fine addition to the medicinal garden, the alpine garden and the rock garden. To raise the rhodiola, sow the seeds in pots of gritty, open soil in a cool, bright place, keep them gently watered, and grow the little plants on in the cool.
sow the seeds in pots of gritty, open soil in a cool, bright place, keep the young rhodiola gently watered, and grow the little plants on in the cool.
Introduce Rhodiola rosea ("golden root" or "rose root") is widely distributed at high altitudes in Arctic and mountainous regions throughout Europe and Asia. It is a popular plant in traditional medical systems in Eastern Europe and Asia, with a reputation for stimulating the nervous system, decreasing depression, enhancing work performance, eliminating fatigue, and preventing high altitude sickness. Rhodiola rosea has been intensively studied in Russia and Scandinavia for more than 35 years. Although the majority of this research on Rhodiola rosea is unavailable for review, available literature is supportive of its adaptogenic properties. Similar to other plant adaptogens investigated by Russian researchers, such as Eleutherococcus senticosus (Siberian ginseng) and Panax ginseng (Korean ginseng), extracts of this plant produce favorable changes in a variety of diverse areas of physiological function, including neurotransmitter levels, central nervous system activity, and cardiovascular function. Rhodiola rosea has been categorized as an adaptogen by Russian researchers due to its observed ability to increase resistance to a variety of chemical, biological, and physical stressors. Origination of the term adaptogen has been dated to 1947 and credited to a Russian scientist, Lazarev. He defined an "adaptogen" as an agent that allows an organism to counteract adverse physical, chemical, or biological stressors by generating non-specific resistance. Inherent in his definition is the concept that administration of the adaptogenic agent allows an organism to pre-adapt itself in a manner that allows it to be more capable of responding appropriately when diverse demands are eventually placed on it. In 1969, Brekhman and Dardymov proposed specific criteria that need to be fulfilled in order for a substance to qualify as an adaptogen. Subjecting animals and humans to a period of stress produces characteristic changes in several hormones and parameters associated with the central nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA). HPA changes include an increase in cortisol, a reduced sensitivity of the HPA to feedback down-regulation, and a disruption in the circadian rhythm of cortisol secretion. Central nervous system changes include the stress-induced depletion of catecholamine neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine and dopamine. An acute increase in beta-endorphin levels is also observed under stressful conditions. To successfully combat stress and stressful situations, adaptation is required. Adaptation might be best thought of as the ability to be exposed to a stressor, while responding with either decreased or no characteristic hormonal perturbations. Adaptation also implies being prepared to and capable of rapidly reassuming homeostasis after the stressor is withdrawn. As an example, a well-trained athlete can participate in an event that would induce a large HPA perturbation (stress response) in a sedentary person, and yet the athlete will be relatively unaffected. This is a result of adaptation that has occurred during the athlete's training process. Additionally, if athletes are exposed to stressors they were not trained for, hormonal perturbations characteristic of a stress response would be expected; however, this response might not be as great as that found in less fit individuals. Furthermore, after the stress ended, their physiology would be expected to re-establish homeostasis rapidly. This is a result of non-specific resistance to stress gained by virtue of a training-induced higher level of fitness. The utility of plant adaptogens is analogous to the training an athlete undergoes in order to prepare for competition. Plant adaptogens cause our physiology to begin the adaptation process to stress. When a stressful situation occurs, consuming adaptogens generates a degree of generalized adaptation (or non-specific resistance) that allows our physiology to handle the stressful situation in a more resourceful manner. As an example of this process, Rhodiola rosea administration promotes a moderate increase in the amount of serum immunoreactive beta-endorphin in rats under basal conditions. This moderate increase is similar to that found when rats are adapted to exercise. When Rhodiola rosea-treated rats were subjected to a 4-hour period of non-specific stress, the expected elevation in beta-endorphin was either not observed or substantially decreased. Consequently, the characteristic perturbations of the HPA were decreased or totally prevented.3 In these rats administration of Rhodiola rosea appears to have generated non-specific resistance and prepared the rats to respond more appropriately to the eventual stressful situation.