Eleutherococcus senticosus Seeds | Siberian Ginseng Acanthopanax

Dried eleuthero root slices, pale and woody, in a pile — Siberian ginseng root (*Eleutherococcus senticosus*): Araliaceae, native to the Far East.

LATIN NAME: Eleutherococcus senticosus

COMMON NAME: Siberian Ginseng

Plant Profile

Eleutherococcus senticosus is a spiny shrub of the Far Eastern taiga, two to three metres tall, with palmate leaves of five leaflets and umbels of small greenish flowers. The stems carry downward-pointing prickles that make picking a slow business.

The root is woody and pale, and it is sold sliced or as an extract. Despite the trade name Siberian ginseng, it is not a Panax and contains no ginsenosides; the name was adopted in the 1950s when Soviet researchers were looking for a cheaper substitute for the Chinese root. The root runs horizontally just below the surface, which is why a single plant can spread into a thicket.

Science & Biotechnology

The marker compounds are eleutheroside B, which is syringin, and eleutheroside E, which is sesamin. Both are measurable and both are used to standardise extracts, though neither has been shown to explain the adaptogen claims.

A more important issue is adulteration. Extracts have repeatedly been found cut with Periploca sepium, a Chinese silk vine whose cardenolides are toxic, and there are case reports of poisoning from mislabelled products. Anyone buying an extract should look for a batch analysis, not just a species name on the front. Standardised extracts usually declare a ratio rather than a marker content, which tells the buyer very little. The root is also rich in polysaccharides, which are used as a marker in some Chinese quality standards.

Uses & Benefits

Root is taken as a decoction at nine to twenty-seven grams, or as a standardised extract, usually in the morning. Traditional use in the Russian Far East was for fatigue and for recovery from illness, and it was issued to workers and athletes in the Soviet period.

Side effects include insomnia and irritability, and it is avoided in hypertension and in pregnancy. Because it can raise blood pressure and affect glucose, it is not a casual supplement for people on medication. The evidence for benefit in healthy people is weak.

Growing from Seed

Seed has a double dormancy and often germinates in the second spring. Warm stratification for three months followed by cold for three more is the reliable route, though germination remains erratic.

Established plants sucker freely, and root cuttings or division are far easier than seed. The shrub tolerates poor, dry soil and deep shade but fruits best in sun. It is very cold hardy, down to about minus thirty, and it makes an impenetrable hedge if that is what is wanted. Plants fruit best on a sunny edge, where the wood ripens before winter. Cut out the oldest stems every third winter to keep the bush from becoming a thicket of dead wood. The berries are eaten by birds in autumn, which is why seedlings sometimes appear far from the parent plant.

Our Take

A tough, useful shrub with a misleading name and a real adulteration problem; grow it from suckers and buy extracts only with a certificate of analysis.

Herb Seeds