Sunday, January 15, 2012
Rhodiola Rosea Health Benefits and Side Effects
Rhodiola Rosea, one of the perennial plant grows in coldest region in the world, including the Arctic, is a genus Rhodiola, belonging to the family Crassulaceae. The herb has been used as an antiaging agent, and to treat fatigue, depression, anemia, impotence, gastrointestinal ailments, infections, nervous system disorders, enhance physical endurance, etc.
Health Benefits 1. Immune booster
In the investigation of the anti-cellular and immunomodulatory potential of aqueous extract of Rhodiola imbricata rhizome (RAE) found that The reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of RAE treated rat splenocytes confirmed the up regulation of TLR-4 mRNA expression. Therefore, the present study concludes that RAE has potent immune boosting activity which might be useful in immunocompromised individuals, according to "Anti-cellular and immunomodulatory potential of aqueous extract of Rhodiola imbricata rhizome" by Mishra KP, Ganju L, Singh SB.(1)
2. Anti cancers
In the assessment of the anti-proliferative effects of Rhodiola aqueous extract (RAE) in human erythroleukemic cell line K-562 using MTT cell proliferation assay, indicated that RAE was also found to induce intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) in K-562 cells at 200microg/ml when incubated overnight. The increased ROS generation may cause apoptosis, which was observed in AnnexinV-FITC and propidium iodide (PI) staining of cells treated with RAE for 72h in K-562 cells. Moreover, RAE arrested cell cycle progression in G2/M phase in early and late period of exposure. The anti-cancer activity of RAE was also confirmed by increased NK cell cytotoxicity. These observations suggest that aqueous extract of R. imbricata rhizome has very potent anti-cancer activities, which might be useful in leukemia cancer treatment, according to "Aqueous extract of Rhodiola imbricata rhizome inhibits proliferation of an erythroleukemic cell line K-562 by inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase" by Mishra KP, Padwad YS, Dutta A, Ganju L, Sairam M, Banerjee PK, Sawhney RC.(2)
3. Neuroprotective effects
In the demonstration of the neuroprotective effects of a titolated extract from Rhodiola rosea L. (RrE) and of salidroside (Sa), one of the major biologically active compounds extracted from this medicinal plant, found that RrE has a neuroprotective effect in cortical neurons and suggest that the antioxidant activity of the RrE, due to the structural features of the synergic active principles they contain, may be responsible for its ability to stabilize cellular Ca(2+) homeostasis, according to "Rhodiola rosea Extract Protects Human Cortical Neurons against Glutamate and Hydrogen Peroxide-induced Cell Death Through Reduction in the Accumulation of Intracellular Calcium" by Palumbo DR, Occhiuto F, Spadaro F, Circosta C.(3)
4. Adjuvant effects
In the study of Salidroside, a major component of Rhodiola rosea L., for its adjuvant effects on the immune responses in mice by ovalbumin (OVA) stimulation, found that co-administration of salidroside with OVA significantly enhanced the ConA-, LPS-, and OVA-induced splenocyte proliferation, produced more IL-2, IL-4, IFN-γ, and IgG, IgG1, and IgG2b antibody levels, and increased the percentage of CD4(+), CD8(+) lymphocyte subsets than OVA alone. Thus, salidroside possess immunological adjuvant activity by regulating humoral and cellular immune responses in mice, according to "Adjuvant effects of salidroside from Rhodiola rosea L. on the immune responses to ovalbumin in mice" by Guan S, He J, Guo W, Wei J, Lu J, Deng X.(4)
5. Anti depression
In the evaluation of herbal medicines, other than St. John's wort, in the treatment of depression
found that the combination of lavender and imipramine was significantly more effective than imipramine alone. When compared to placebo, Echium was found to significantly decrease depression scores at week 4, but not week 6. Rhodiola was also found to significantly improve depressive symptoms when compared to placebo, according to "Herbal medicines, other than St. John's Wort, in the treatment of depression: a systematic review" by Dwyer AV, Whitten DL, Hawrelak JA.(5)
6. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
In the identification of Rhodiola rosea effect on anxiety, depression, and insomnia found that Significant improvement in GAD symptoms was found with R. rosea, with a reduction in HARS scores similar to that found in clinical trials. These preliminary findings warrant further exploration of treatment with R. rosea in clinical samples, according to "A pilot study of Rhodiola rosea (Rhodax) for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)" by Bystritsky A, Kerwin L, Feusner JD.(6)
7. Psychiatric disorders
In the review of 27 herbal medicines and formulas in treating a broad range of psychiatric disorders (in addition to anxiety and depression), including obsessive-compulsive, seasonal affective, bipolar depressive, psychotic, phobic and somatoform disorders, found that Phytotherapies which potentially have significant use in psychiatry, and urgently require more research are Rhodiola rosea (roseroot) and Crocus sativus (saffron) for depression; Passiflora incarnata (passionflower), Scutellaria lateriflora (scullcap) and Zizyphus jujuba (sour date) for anxiety disorders; and Piper methysticum (kava) for phobic, panic and obsessive-compulsive disorders. While depression and anxiety are commonly researched, the efficacy of herbal medicines in other mental disorders requires attention, according to "Herbal medicines in the treatment of psychiatric disorders: a systematic review" by Sarris J.(7)
8. Endurance Performance enhancers
In the investigation of To determine whether the ingestion of a herbal supplement called Rhodiola-Gingko Capsule (RGC) would enhance the endurance performance of healthy volunteers, found that the combined herbal supplement of Rhodiola and Gingko could improve the endurance performance by increasing oxygen consumption and protecting against fatigue, according to "Dietary supplement with a combination of Rhodiola crenulata and Ginkgo biloba enhances the endurance performance in healthy volunteers" by Zhang ZJ, Tong Y, Zou J, Chen PJ, Yu DH.(8)
9. Anti oxidative stress
In the study of Rhodiola rosea used in traditional medical systems in Europe and Asia as an adaptogen to increase an organism's resistance to physical stress found that R. rosea supplementation could protect cultured cells against ultraviolet light, paraquat, and H(2)O(2). However, it did not alter the levels of the major antioxidant defenses nor did it markedly activate the antioxidant response element or modulate heme-oxygenase-1 expression levels at relevant concentrations, according to "Protection of human cultured cells against oxidative stress by Rhodiola rosea without activation of antioxidant defenses" by Schriner SE, Avanesian A, Liu Y, Luesch H, Jafari M.(9)
10. Sport performance
In the evaluation of a chronic supplementation with Rhodiola Rosea for 4 weeks, 14 trained male athletes underwent a cardio-pulmonary exhaustion test and blood samples, found that Chronic Rhodiola Rosea supplementation is able to reduce both lactate levels and parameters of skeletal muscle damage after an exhaustive exercise session. Moreover this supplementation seems to ameliorate fatty acid consumption. Taken together those observation confirm that Rhodiola Rosea may increase the adaptogen ability to physical exercise, according to "Effects of chronic Rhodiola Rosea supplementation on sport performance and antioxidant capacity in trained male: preliminary results" by Parisi A, Tranchita E, Duranti G, Ciminelli E, Quaranta F, Ceci R, Cerulli C, Borrione P, Sabatini S.(10)
11. Etc.
Side Effects
1. Overdoses may cause nervous tension, including restlessness, irritability, and insomnia and rapid heart beat, or heart palpitations as a result of stimulant in the herb
2. Do not use the herb in children, or if you are pregnant or breast feeding without approval from the related field specialist
3. Since it contains stimulant, people who have psychological disorders should consult with your doctor before taking.
4. Etc.
Healthy Happy Herbs
A Beginner's Guide To Herbs And
Herb Gardening, Step by step
Super foods Library, Eat Yourself Healthy With The Best of the Best Nature Has to Offer
For the world most popular herbs list, visit http://theworldmostpopularherbs.blogspot.com/2011/10/world-most-popular-herbs-health.html
other health articles, please visit http://medicaladvisorjournals.blogspot.com
Sources
(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22239552
(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18241696
(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22086763
(4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21711135
(5) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21438645
(6) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18307390
(7) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17562566
(8) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19568709
(9) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19486939
(10) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20308973
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