The man is not sick because he has an illness; he has an illness because he is sick.
—Chinese proverb
A basic truism of antibiotic treatment is that it just will not work under most circumstances unless the body can mount its own attack against invading bacteria.
—Marc Lappé, When Antibiotics Fail
No matter the virulence of a disease, and this includes fierce diseases such as Ebola, some people remain healthy in spite of being exposed. In fact, medical studies have consistently shown the presence of virulent bacteria in most peoples’ systems though they never become ill.
Countless studies have found that the healthier your immune system, the less likely you are to get a disease and the more likely you are, if you do get sick, to have a milder episode. This is especially true in diseases such as Lyme. Researchers have consistently noted that the higher certain immune markers are, the less likely that infection will occur and, if it does, the disease will be less severe than if the immune markers are low.
Our immune system is in fact our first line of defense. Its job is to protect us from disease and, if disease occurs, to cure it. A healthy immune system is therefore the first and most important part of health and healing.
Some of the specific elements of our immune system are the thymus, spleen, liver, lymph system, lymph nodes, tonsils, appendix (basically a large lymph node), and bone marrow. The thymus coordinates immune activity, the spleen processes worn-out red blood cells and platelets and provides a location to engulf and destroy invading bacteria. The liver cleans toxins from the blood and produces most of the body’s lymph. Lymph is the liquid that flows in the lymph system, somewhat similar to a city’s sewer system. The lymph system runs parallel to the blood vessels and stores, filters, and circulates waste, especially dead bacteria and the massive numbers of white blood cells produced during active infections. Lymph nodes are large intersections of lymph channels and store or warehouse the waste products being processed through the lymph system. When the lymph nodes are processing a lot of waste they tend to swell, clog up, and become painful to the touch. When they do, the processing of waste slows down. Keeping the nodes clear helps the body process infections much more quickly. The lymph nodes also produce unique white blood cells called lymphocytes (as does the thymus gland) that are particularly strong elements of the immune system.
The bone marrow, and to some extent the thymus, manufactures other types of white blood cells that fight infections. Two of the most important are phagocytes and neutrophils. Phagocytes exist in three forms (monocytes, macrophages, and granulocytes). As macrophages they rove the body looking for foreign bodies, engulf invading bacteria, and help clean up residues of white blood cells and bacteria during and after infections. They also alert the neutrophils, which attack and destroy bacteria and viruses, of the presence of disease organisms.
All these various parts of the immune complex can be supported and kept healthy. A strong immune system means that infections are less frequent and healing is quicker.
A number of herbs stand out when it comes to strengthening, rehabilitating, or enhancing the immune system. All of them can be used long term; few have any side effects. Though some of these herbs are active against specific disease organisms, their strength lies in enhancing various aspects of the immune system, offering protective activity against toxins or disease for specific organs in the body, antitumor activity, and/or tonic and restorative activity for general debility in the body or immune system. Many of these plant medicines are also considered to be antistressors and adaptogens. They protect the body from the effects of stress and stimulate the body, and especially the immune system, to more effectively deal with adverse events—internal or external.
Family: Solanaceae
Common Names: Ashwagandha • Indian ginseng • winter cherry
Species Used: After intense fisticuffs it was decided that there are six species in this genus. Withania somnifera is the species most commonly known as an immune herb. However, two other Withania species, Withania obtusifolia and W. coagulans, are used in much the same manner. W. obtusifolia has a long history of use in the Sudan while W. coagulans (especially the fruit) has long been used in Pakistan and India. W. coagulans is so termed because it is a powerful coagulating agent and is used in place of rennet by Indians to make cheese. (Obtusifolia is so named because its leaves are obtuse, that is, “lacking in insight or discernment,” and is used in place of aware perception by taxonomists.)
The root is almost exclusively used in Western practice (a few people are starting to use the berry), the whole plant in the rest of the world.
Dry root: 1:5, 70% alcohol, 30–40 drops up to 3x daily.
Fresh leaf: 1:2, 95% alcohol, 10–30 drops up to 3x daily.
Dry seed: 1:5, 65% alcohol, 15–30 drops up to 3x daily.
Fresh fruit: 1:2 (grind the whole mess well), 95% alcohol, 15–30 drops up to 3x daily.
Take 500–1,000 mg daily, though in Ayurvedic practice 3–6 grams are used daily.
Some people, sigh, are standardizing the root capsules to 1.5 percent withanolides. Others are producing both 1:4 and 1:2 tinctures. All may be stronger than the whole, not-altered root and root tinctures … but maybe not.
Avoid high doses in pregnancy, as it may be abortifacient in large doses. May cause drowsiness. Take the herb after dinner to find out just how sleepy it makes you before using it during the day. In rare instances: diarrhea, GI tract upset, vomiting at large doses.
May potentiate barbiturates (anecdotal); don’t use with sedatives and anxiolytics.
Ashwagandha is native to the dry regions of India and is now fairly prolific throughout northern Africa and the Mediterranean, essentially your warm, semi-arid climates that get some good rain during the rainy season. It’s a small, perennial, bushy, woody shrub to about 2 feet tall, though with a lot of care, water, and fertilizer it can grow to 6 feet. The plant produces orange-red fruits looking much like cherries (hence that common name) that are enclosed in a papery husk. Ashwagandha is similar in appearance to both ground cherry and Chinese lantern. The roots are long, tuberous, and brown.
The plant is little grown (or known) in the United States but is a rather common agricultural plant in its region. It does well in warm, semi-arid to arid climates as long as it gets some water now and then. Perfect for parts of Arizona and Southern California—good in zones 8 and warmer. It is a hardy evergreen perennial to temperatures to just above freezing (and can survive occasional drops to as low as 15°F) but does well as an annual pretty much anyplace it is warm enough. It needs at least a 200-day growing season to reach maturity but will produce a decent root system in 100 days if that’s all you’ve got.
Actions
Root
Alterative
Amphoteric
Antibacterial
Antifatigue
Anti-inflammatory
Antioxidant
Antipyretic
Antistressor
Antitumor
Anxiolytic
Astringent
Chondroprotective
Collagenase inhibitor
Diuretic
Hematopoietic
Immune tonic
Immunomodulant
Insomnia reliever (especially stress- or disease-induced)
Nervine
Neuroprotective
Leaf and stem
Antibacterial
Antimicrobial
Antipyretic
Antitumor
Astringent
Bitter
Diuretic
Febrifuge
Nervine
Seed
Coagulant
Diuretic
Hypnotic
Fruit
Alterative
Antibacterial
Astringent
Immune tonic
Ashwagandha is propagated by seed and it grows easily. Sow in early spring indoors. Germination is in about 15 days. Plants really like full sun and fast-draining soil with some limestone in it (alkaline soil lover). The plants are intolerant of wet soils. Harvest the roots just after the cherries become ripe. Dry the cherries for use the next year as new seed stock. Cut the roots into smallish pieces, and dry out of the sun. Store in plastic bags when well dried, in plastic tubs in a cool, dark location. The leaves can be harvested at any time.
The major constituents are steroidal alkaloids and steroidal lactones: withanine, somniferine, somnine, somniferinine, withaninine, pseudo-withanine, tropine, pseudo-tropine, ashwagandhanolide, cuscohygrine, anferine, anhydryine, sitoindoside 7 and 8, a lot of other stuff, and a bunch of steroidal lactones in the leaves called withanolides. Withaferin A in the leaves has tremendous antitumor activity.
The primary traditional uses of the herb have all been in the Ayurveda system in India.
A major plant in India for at least three thousand years, ashwagandha is considered to be tonic, alterative, astringent, aphrodisiac, and a nervine sedative. It has been used for TB, emaciation in children, senile debility, rheumatism, general debility, nervous exhaustion, brain fog, loss of memory, loss of muscular energy, and spermatorrhea. Its primary use is to restore vigor and energy in a body worn out by long-term constitutional disease or old age.
Unknown as far as I can determine.
A recent plant to the West, almost an herb-of-the-day.
There have been an increasing number of studies on ashwagandha since 2000; there are about 400 of them on pubmed as of 2011. Here’s a sampling:
Clinical trial, antistressor activity: 100 men and women in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial. The herb significantly reduced stress in all who took the herb.
Clinical trial, hemoglobin effects: A double-blind study with 60 healthy children age 8 to 12 years. There was a marked increase in level of hemoglobin at the end of 30 days and in packed cell volume, mean corpuscular volume, serum iron, and hand grip at the end of 60 days.
Clinical trial, hemoglobin effects: A double-blind study with 101 healthy men age 50 to 59 years. Each took 3 grams per day of ashwagandha for 1 year. All showed significantly increased hemoglobin and RBC count, improvement in melanin, and decreased SED rate, and three-quarters of them reported increased sexual performance.
In vitro, antibacterial action: Ashwagandha does have some antibacterial actions; whole-plant extracts have been found active against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella spp., E. coli, and Bacillus subtilis.
In vitro/in vivo, rats/mice, antineoplastic activity: There have been over 50 studies on the antineoplastic actions of the plant, primarily using the leaves. Tumor growth is retarded, tumor cell proliferation is reduced, side effects of radiation and chemotherapy are reduced, and life expectancy is increased.
In vivo, mice, pain relief: Withaferin A, a constituent of ashwagandha, has been shown to be analgesic and antipyretic.
In vitro studies, cartilage effects: Found the root extract to be highly chondroprotective of damaged human osteoarthritis cartilage matrix. It also was significantly inhibitive of the gelatinase activity of collagenase type 2 enzyme.
In vivo, rats, central nervous system effects: Showed the herb to have anxiolytic and antidepressant actions. Strong antioxidant.
In vivo, mice, central nervous system effects: Showed the herb to correct scopolamine-induced memory loss in mice.
In vitro, central nervous system effects: Root extracts induce neurite extension and outgrowth in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y. Stimulate neuritic regeneration and synaptic reconstruction in damaged cortical neurons. Completely inhibit dendritic atrophy.
In vivo, rats, central nervous system effects: Treatment for 14 days significantly improved nitropropionic-acid-induced cognitive dysfunction and oxidative damage in rats. (Note: There have been at least 30 studies finding cognitive improvements in various animal species from the use of the root.)
In vivo, rats, anti-inflammatory: Strongly anti-inflammatory in various rheumatological conditions.
In vivo, dogs, cardiac effects: Hypotensive, bradycardic, respiratory stimulant actions.
In vivo, mice, white blood cells: Ashwagandha significantly reduced induced leukopenia in mice. White blood cell count significantly increased.
In vivo, mice, thyroid enhancement: Significantly increased thyroid production of T3 and T4.
Family: Leguminosae
Common Names: Astragalus (English) • huang-qi (Chinese)
Species Used: This is a huge genus of some three thousand species, prevalent throughout the world. The primary species used is Astragalus membranaceus, a.k.a. A. membranaceus var. mongholicus, a.k.a. A. mongholicus. Sigh … now that the number of species in this genus has been, almost, settled, the number of variants is in question. (Yes, this one is Astragalus membranaceus, but it looks funny. I found it in Mongolia; therefore …)
There is not much information on whether any of the other species in the genus can be used similarly.
Note: Astragalus propinquus is, in some circles, a synonym for A. membranaceus. However, a number of sources now insist (cue shocked expression) that this is the correct name for the plant. And of course, Astragalus mongholicus is just a rose by any other name.
The plant is a perennial with a long fibrous rootstock. The root, which is the part used for medicine, is often found thinly sliced and dried (a traditional preparation in Chinese medicine) and most closely resembles a yellow (medical) tongue depressor. Bulk quantities of the powdered or coarsely ground organic root are commonly available through herbal suppliers to Western botanic practitioners.
Actions
Adaptogen
Antibacterial
Antihepatotoxic
Antiviral
Cardioprotective
Diuretic
Enhances function in lungs, spleen, and GI tract
Hypotensive
Immune enhancer, modulator, stimulant, and restorative
Tonic
Astragalus is an immune potentiator and modulator. Increases interferon-gamma and interleukin-2 levels. Enhances CD4+ counts and balances the CD4:CD8 ratio. Astragalus is specific for immune atrophy and enhances function in the spleen and thymus.
Many astragalus formulations are standardized, though I’m not sure that the literature really supports standardization with this herb.
The root is usually standardized for either 0.4 percent or 0.5 percent 4′-hydroxy-3′-methoxyisoflavone 7-sug, but the reasons are not entirely clear for doing so. No literature exists that I can find that lays out why in fact this particular constituent was singled out and not the astragalosides. (Astragaloside IV, for instance, is one of the primary active ingredients of the plant in heart disease. It increases exercise tolerance and reduces chest distress and dyspnea and optimizes left ventricular function.) The methoxyisoflavone constituent for which the plant is standardized is an anabolic-type compound that enhances strength and muscle formation and may have some protective actions in upper respiratory infections and on digestive function. Data on its functions are somewhat unclear and hard to come by; I have been unable to locate any clinical or laboratory studies on the constituent—though they must exist somewhere. Their rarity stimulates speculation.
The whole root contains constituents that are essential for carditis and enhanced immune function. And, indeed, the majority of the Chinese studies—clinical and laboratory—were with the whole herb.
The herb may be taken as tea, powder, capsules, or tincture or in food.
Use 2–3 ounces of herb per pot of tea; drink throughout the day.
1:5, 60 percent alcohol, 30–60 drops up to 4x daily
In chronic conditions: Take up to 3 tablespoons per day.
In acute conditions: Take up to 6 tablespoons per day.
Astragalus has been used for centuries as an additive to meal preparation. The sliced root is placed in soups and removed before eating or a strong infusion of the root is made and used to cook rice and as a stock for soups.
No toxicity has ever been shown from the regular, daily use of the herb nor from the use of large doses. The Chinese report consistent use for millennia in the treatment of colds and flu and suppressed immune function without side effects.
Astragalus is contraindicated, however, in late-stage Lyme disease because it can exacerbate autoimmune responses in that particular disease.
Synergistic actions: Use of the herb with interferon and acyclovir may increase their effects. The herb has been used in clinical trials with interferon in the treatment of hepatitis B; outcomes were better than with interferon alone. It has also shown synergistic effects when used with interferon in the treatment of cervical erosion; antiviral activity is enhanced.
Drug inhibition: Use of the herb with cyclophosphamide may decrease the effectiveness of the drug. Not for use in people with transplanted organs.
Synergistic with echinacea and licorice in the stimulation of immune function.
Of the more than three thousand species of astragalus in the world, 16 grow in the United States. The leaf structure looks like a typical member of the pea family. It is a short-lived, sprawling perennial and grows up to 4 feet in size.
The medicinal astragalus is native to northeast China though it has been planted a great many other places, including the United States. Wild populations are still rare in the West though it is under wide cultivation as a medicinal in the United States and escape to the wild is imminent.
Astragalus is started from seeds in the early spring indoors. The seed coat needs to be scored with something like sandpaper prior to planting. Growers (e.g., Elixir Farm in Missouri) have found that it prefers a sunny location with, as the Elixir Farm website notes, “deep, sandy, well-drained, somewhat alkaline soil. It does not like mulch or deep cultivation. The crowns of the emerging plants are very sensitive to compost and respond well after they have gained some momentum in the spring.” Not surprisingly, given the plant’s medicinal actions, it is highly resistant to insect damage, crown rot, mildew, and drought.
The plant grows larger and more woody each year, with the roots harvested beginning the fall of the third year or spring of the fourth. Spring and fall harvests occur in China.
Astragalosides 1-7, astraisoflavan, astramembranagenin, astrapterocarpan, beta-sitosterol, betaine, formononetin, GABA, isoastragaloside 1, 2, and 4, isoliquiritigenin, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, soyasaponin I, kumatakenin, choline, glucuronic acid, 4′-hydroxy-3′-methoxyisoflavone 7-sug, a couple of dihydroxy-7, 4-dimethyl-isoflavones, 3′-hydroxyformonontin, calcium, folic acid, choline, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, sodium, zinc.
Astragalus, first mentioned in the two-thousand-year-old Chinese text Shen Nong Cao Jing, is one of the 50 fundamental herbs in Chinese medicine and is considered to be one of the superior tonic herbs. The plant has developed into one of the primary immune herbs used worldwide over the past four decades.
Five species of astragalus are used in the materia medica of India, none of them this species. They are minor herbs, used primarily as emollients.
Astragalus has been a major herb in Chinese medicine for between two thousand and four thousand years. Its traditional uses are for spleen deficiency with lack of appetite, fatigue, and diarrhea. It is specific for disease conditions accompanied by weakness and sweating, stabilizes and protects the vital energy (qi), and is used for wasting diseases, numbness of the limbs, and paralysis. Other uses are: for tonifying the lungs, for shortness of breath, for frequent colds and flus; as a diuretic and for reduction of edema; for tonifying the blood and for blood loss, especially postpartum; for diabetes; for promoting the discharge of pus, for chronic ulcerations, including of the stomach, and sores that have not drained or healed well.
The herb was not used in Western botanic practice until the tremendous East/West herbal blending that began during the 1960s. It is now one of the primary immune tonic herbs in the Western pharmacopeia.
A considerable amount of scientific testing has occurred with astragalus, including clinical trials and both in vivo and in vitro studies. Medline lists 799 citations for studies with astragalus and this does not include the many Chinese studies that have never been indexed for Medline. Two U.S. patents have been granted for the use of astragalus for immunostimulation. What follows is merely a sampling.
Most of the clinical studies and trials regarding immunostimulation have been focused on the use of astragalus in the treatment of cancer and/or as an adjunct to chemotherapy to help stimulate chemo-depressed immune function. A number of other studies have examined its immune effects with a range of different conditions.
The herb has been used with children suffering tetralogy of Fallot after a radical operation to correct the condition. Tetralogy of Fallot is a complex of four heart abnormalities that occur together, generally at birth. Surgery is used to correct it. Astragalus was found to decrease abnormal levels of IgG, Igm, C3, C4, CD8+, and CD19+ while increasing levels of CD4+ and CD56+. The ratios of CD4:CD8, CD3:HLA-DR, and CD3:CD16 normalized between the second and third week of use. IL-6 and TNF-alpha both began decreasing in the first week and by week 4 were in the normal range.
When astragalus was used in the treatment of herpes simplex keratitis, levels of Th1, including IL-2 and IFN-gamma, increased and Th2 levels, including IL-4 ad IL-10, decreased, showing that the herb modulated Th1 and Th2 levels. This same kind of effect has been found in the treatment of numerous cancers. For example, in a study of 37 lung cancer patients astragalus was found to reverse the Th2 status normally present in that condition. Th1 cytokines (IFN-gamma and IL-2) and its transcript factor (T-bet) were enhanced and Th2 cytokines were decreased.
A clinical study with 63 people suffering serious abdominal traumatic injury found that the addition of astragalus to the treatment regimen significantly increased cellular immunity.
In clinical trials with a number of different cancers and congestive heart conditions, astragalus has been found to increase CD4+ levels, reduce CD8+ levels, and significantly increase the CD4:CD8 ratio. The plant has been found to have a broad immunostimulatory effect. Use of the herb with cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy found that white blood cell counts improved significantly (normalizing). The herb has been found to be specifically useful in preventing or reversing immunosuppression from any source: age-related, bacterial, viral, or chemical. It enhances phagocytosis and increases superoxide dismutase production from macrophages.
There have been numerous clinical trials with the herb for treating heart disease. The herb has been found specific for inhibiting Coxsackie B infections, both as an antiviral and as a heart protector. It will reverse damage to the heart in a number of conditions. With respect to Lyme carditis probably the most important are its impacts on left ventricular function, angina, and shortness of breath. While it is not completely protective for atrioventricular (AV) block, it does improve electrophysiological parameters and ameliorates AV block to some extent.
In a trial of astragalus for 2 weeks with 19 people with congestive heart failure, 15 people experienced alleviation of symptoms of chest distress and dyspnea, and their exercise tolerance increased substantially. Radionuclide ventriculography showed that left ventricular modeling and ejection function improved, and heart rate slowed from 88.21 to 54.66 beats/minute.
In another trial, 43 people suffering from myocardial infarction were tested with astragalus. Left ventricular function strengthened. Superoxide dismutase activity or red blood cell levels increased, and lipid peroxidation of plasma was reduced.
In a study with 366 cardiac patients astragalus was found to be effective when compared to lidocaine and mexiletine (which were not found effective). With astragalus the duration of ventricular late potentials shortened significantly.
In the treatment of 92 patients suffering ischemic heart disease, astragalus was more successful than nifedipine. Patients were “markedly relieved” from angina pectoris. EKG test results improved 82.6 percent.
Astragalus has been found to possess anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting the NF-kB pathway and blocking the effect of interleukin-1 beta in leukotriene C production in human amnions. The constituent astragaloside IV inhibits increases in microvascular permeability induced by histamine. The whole-herb decoction has been found to reduce capillary hyperpermeability.
Astragalus has been found to improve anisodine-induced impairment of memory acquisition and alcohol-elicited deficit of memory retrieval. After use of the herb the number of errors was reduced. The plant has been found to exert potent antioxidant effects on the brain, helping to prevent senility.
Astragalus has been found effective in alleviating fatigue in heart patients and in athletes. In one trial, 12 athletes were randomly separated into two groups, and six were given astragalus. Astragalus was found to positively influence anaerobic threshold, enhance recovery from fatigue, and increase fatigue threshold.
A double-blind, randomized, controlled trial with 36 adults with chronic fatigue found that a mixture of astragalus and Salviae Radix significantly decreased fatigue scores.
A number of trials have found the herb effective in the clinical treatment of hepatitis B and liver disease. Liver function is improved, the liver is protected from damage, and regeneration is stimulated.
Robyn Landis and K. P. S. Khalsa share a tasty recipe for an immune-enhancing astragalus broth in their book, Herbal Defense (Warner Books, 1997).
3 cups water or vegetable broth
1 ounce astragalus (five “tongue depressor” lengths of the sliced root)
1 bulb (5 to 10 cloves) fresh garlic, sliced or whole Salt and pepper to taste
Combine the water, astragalus, and garlic and simmer for several hours, until the garlic is soft. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Consume all the broth if you feel an infection coming on, or take a cup or two several times during the week to prevent infection. Consume the garlic separately, leave in the broth, or use as a spread on toast.
1½ ounces sliced astragalus root
4 cups water, plus more as needed
2 cups (uncooked) brown rice
Add the astragalus to the water, bring to boil, and simmer, covered, for 2 hours. Remove from the heat and let stand overnight. Remove the astragalus, and add enough water to bring the broth volume back up to 4 cups. Add the rice, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the rice is done, approximately 1 hour. Use this rice as you would any rice, as a base for meals throughout the week.
Actions
Antibacterial (mild)
Anti-inflammatory
Cytotoxic (strongly anticancer)
Diaphoretic
Emetic (mild)
Febrifuge
Gastric bitter
Immunostimulant (increases phagocytosis four times better than echinacea)
Mucous membrane tonic
Peripheral circulatory stimulant
Smooth muscle relaxant
Family: Compositae
Common Names: Boneset, common boneset, throughwort, agueweed, feverwort, sweating plant—but no one has used those last three names since 1885. (And it’s pronounced A-gyew-weed, not aaagh-weed, big fella.)
Species Used: There are 36, or 60, or pi? numbers of species in the Eupatorium genus; taxonomists being troublesome again. Nearly all are native to the Americas, Eupatorium cannabinum being an exception. Many of the species in the genus are medicinal; however, for our purposes here, Eupatorium perfoliatum is the plant to use. The others do other things. For immune action, we want this one.
Aerial parts, in flower or just before flowering, depending.
May be taken as tea or tincture.
Cold tea: 1 ounce herb in 1 quart boiling water, let steep overnight, strain, and drink throughout the day. The cold infusion is better for the mucous membrane system and as a liver tonic.
Hot tea: 1 tsp herb in 8 ounces hot water, steep 15 minutes. Drink 4–6 ounces up to 4x per day. Boneset is only diaphoretic when hot and should be consumed hot for active infections or for recurring chills and fevers.
Fresh herb in flower: 1:2, 95 percent alcohol, 20–40 drops in hot water up to 3x daily.
Dry herb: 1:5, 60 percent alcohol, 30–50 drops in hot water up to 3x daily.
In acute viral or bacterial upper respiratory infections, take 10 drops of tincture in hot water every half hour up to 6x daily. In conditions where the acute stage has passed but there is continued chronic fatigue and relapse, take 10 drops of tincture in hot water 4x daily.
The hot infusion in quantity can cause vomiting, and in moderate doses mild nausea sometimes occurs. The cooler the tea the less nausea. Otherwise, no side effects or contraindications. However, boneset may be contraindicated in pregnancy.
None noted.
The plant is pervasive in the eastern half of the United States and Canada, from Texas, Oklahoma, North Dakota, et cetera on eastward. However, every place I’ve seen it grow has been wettish, humid, with good soil.
Boneset grows up to 3 feet tall, they say, but I’ve never seen it get that big; however, most of my experience of the plant has been in the tiny state of Vermont. Two feet seemed about average, just like with hominids. The plant grows in a straight stalk, the leaves going north/south, then east/west, then north/south again. The leaves continue on through the stalk, hence throughwort; it basically looks like the leaves were glued together at the wide end and the stalk just punched through them. Once seen, never forgotten.
The plant is a perennial and likes full or partial sun in moist to wet conditions, on the edges of swamps, along streams, in wet meadows, in marshlands, basically any place mosquitos like to breed except maybe old tires. It spreads by seed; there are a lot of sources on the Internet.
If collected at flowering and allowed to dry, the plant will usually go to seed as it dries. It should be collected only in flower (August or September) if being tinctured fresh and right now. If you are going to use it as a tea, it should be picked just prior to flowering, hung upside down in a shaded place, and allowed to thoroughly air-dry.
Methylglucuronoxylan, astragalin, eufoliatin, eufoliatorin, eupatorin, euperfolin, euperfolitin, euperfolide, euccannabinolide, eupatoriopicrin, hyperoside, rutin, polysaccharides, and a bunch of other stuff. Many of those are sesquiterpene lactones, common in the eupatoriums.
Nope.
Not hardly.
Oh, yes, used. The plant, indigenous to North America, has been used by Native American peoples for millennia, specifically for intermittent fevers and chills, with pain in the bones, weakness, and debility. The American Eclectics used it for intermittent (e.g., malarial), typhoid, and remittent fevers, and for general debility, pneumonia, cough, epidemic influenza, colds, catarrh, and pains accompanying those conditions. It was one of their primary remedies.
The sesquiterpene lactones in boneset have a large range of actions. They are highly immunostimulatory and very active against cancers. They also possess antiplasmodial actions. The action is mild, but if the plant is added to a traditional antimalarial that is strong, such as cryptolepis, the effects are mutually supportive. A homeopathic formulation of boneset was found to significantly inhibit plasmodial replication (60 percent inhibition).
Clinical trials have shown that boneset stimulates phagocytosis better than echinacea, is analgesic (at least as effective as aspirin), and reduces cold and flu symptoms. In mice it has shown strong immunostimulant activity and cytotoxic action against cancer cells.
Despite boneset’s long use and potent reputation, little research has occurred with the plant. In clinical practice, however, it is one of the most potent herbs for enhancing immune function, especially in periodic diseases like bartonellosis. It will reliably counter bacterial or viral immune suppression in diseases that present as periodics.
Family: Compositae
Common Names: These days “echinacea” pretty much is the name, though “purple coneflower” is exceptionally common among gardeners who don’t know about the medicinal actions of plants.
Species Used: All nine members of the genus can be used; however, the most common are Echinacea angustifolia and E. purpurea. I don’t particularly think that purpurea is all that strong in comparison. I really haven’t found it all that effective, in spite of what everyone says, and I avoid it if possible. I would strongly suggest the use of angustifolia if you can get it. (There is some evidence that Echinacea pallida is more potent than angustifolia, but I haven’t worked with it personally.)
Root primarily, but the flower heads in seed are also potent. The Germans, however, use the juice of purpurea as their primary medicinal.
Actions
Analgesic
Antibacterial
Anti-inflammatory
Antiviral
Hyaluronidase inhibitor
Immune modulator
Immune stimulant
Sialagogue
Stimulates antibody production
The most potent medicinal forms of the plant are tincture of the root and the fresh juice of the aerial plant.
Note: Echinacea extracts standardized for phenolic acid or echinocaside content have been found to be inactive as immunostimulants but do still retain their anti-inflammatory actions.
Juice the aerial parts of the plant, when in flower if possible. Take immediately or stabilize with 20–25 percent alcohol (see page 227). Take 1–3 teaspoons per day, or up to 6x daily in acute episodes.
E. angustifolia dry root, 1:5, 70 percent alcohol. (Or fresh flower heads of purpurea if you must, 1:2, 95 percent alcohol.)
Note: The tincture’s effectiveness is much reduced if taken in water (unless you are taking large doses for septicemia or collagen support) and I would strongly recommend against doing so, especially in the treatment of strep infections of the throat.
For strep throat/tonsillitis: Direct contact with the tissue at the back of the throat with a tincture of echinacea (30 drops each hour minimum) liberally mixed with saliva is certain in these kinds of conditions. Echinacea actively stimulates saliva and numbs the tissue it comes into contact with, making it perfect for this (or any sore, swollen throat infections). I have found this reliably effective, again if treatment is assertive and consistent. In a number of cases (including a doubting physician who was ill himself) the throat had been positively cultured for strep; healing generally occurs within 24 hours.
As a mouth/gum wash for sores and ulcers: The tincture, 30 drops, hold in mouth until saliva is well stimulated, swish it around to cover all surfaces well, hold for 30 seconds, swallow. Repeat 3x or 4x daily.
For onset of colds and flus: Not less than 1 dropperful (30 drops) of tincture each hour until symptoms cease. (Note: Echinacea is more effective for cold and flu onset in combination with licorice root and red root.)
For septicemia, typhoid, diphtheria, and so on: 1 tsp E. angustifolia root tincture in very little water every half hour until the situation normalizes. If the tincture is held in the mouth for a minute or so, it will enter the bloodstream quite rapidly. Better outcomes will be achieved this way. If taken 30 minutes after piperine, its movement into the bloodstream will be very rapid.
For collagen tissue protection and repair: ¼–1 tsp tincture, 3x daily for extended periods (weeks).
For external wounds: Because of its capacity to correct tissue abnormality, echinacea is perfect for this application. Its anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and cell-normalizing actions all come into powerful play for any external wounds. In the case of infected wounds, take the tincture, frequently, diluted in a bit of water. In severe cases take ½–1 teaspoon of angustifolia root tincture each half hour to hour.
For venomous stings and bites: Mix the tincture with an equal amount of water and wash the affected area liberally every 30 minutes, and take 30 drops to 1 teaspoon of the tincture each half hour to hour depending on the type of bite/sting. For infected bites or stings, more; for venomous bites/stings, more; for simple bee or wasp stings, less. (You can also use a wash for this purpose: Boil 2 ounces ground flower heads or root in 8 ounces water for 15 minutes, let steep 1 hour, strain, and use to wash wounds and venomous bites and stings liberally, as often as needed.)
As a wound powder: Powder the dried root (or seed heads) as finely as possible and sprinkle liberally over new or infected wounds. Best in combination with other herbs such as goldenseal, usnea, oak, and wormwood.
Poultice: Mix powder with water until thick and place on affected area.
For abnormal Pap smear: Echinacea can easily correct even stage three dysplasia. Whenever echinacea is placed directly on cells that are displaying abnormal properties, the cells tend to return to normal relatively quickly as long as the treatment is assertive and consistent. I have seen no other herb that comes even close to echinacea’s reliability in this regard. Use as a suppository; see page 355 for details.
Rarely: Joint pain may occur with large doses taken for extended periods of time. Increased shoe size may occur from large doses for extended periods. Current collagenosis? Don’t take a lot for a long time.
Echinacea is not an immune tonic; it is an immune stimulant. Continued immune stimulation in instances of immune depletion to avoid necessary rest or more healthy lifestyle choices will always result in a more severe illness than if the original colds and flus were allowed to progress. Echinacea should not be used if you are getting sick a lot and are only using echinacea to stave off illness without using the time gained to heal the immune system itself through deep healing and recuperation.
None have been noted; however, echinacea decreases the action of the influx transporter OATP-B by 50 percent. It may decrease the absorption of OATP-B substrates. Phenobarbital, chloral hydrate, and meprobamate can inhibit the anti-inflammatory actions of echinacea.
Synergistic with astragalus and licorice in the stimulation of immune function.
The echinaceas are perennials, indigenous to eastern and central North America, usually in moist or dry prairies and open woodlands. E. purpurea is a major garden plant pretty much everyplace that has gardens. It is also a major agricultural crop everywhere on Earth, including China, so this member of the genus, even if no others, has colonized numerous countries around the globe.
The plants are unbranched, erect, with wide-bladed leaves and grow 3 to 5 feet tall. Writers often describe the plant leaves as hairy with a rough texture. To me the experience is more like touching Velcro; the plant doesn’t mess around. The stems are strong, the plants vigorous, intense. They are not oooooh love/mushy plants and have no resemblance to puppies or kittens.
All the species except purpurea have strong taproots, brown, vigorous, intense. Purpurea’s roots are some sort of strange, glumpy, fibrous sort of paleish-tannish thing. I never have been attracted to that species and besides I don’t think it is all that good medicinally so I am prejudiced; the rootish things it produces just look wimpy to me, sort of like a bag of earthworms curled around an irregular sort of tannish lump. But, you know, go ahead and use purpurea if you want.
The reason why so many people use purpurea for medicine rather than angustifolia (which I think much stronger) is that it is easier to grow. (Ah hah!) Throw the seeds in the ground in the fall and up they come in the spring. Like all the echinaceas they prefer a period of cold before germinating, but I have talked to people who just planted seeds in the spring and found them to be decent if not spectacular germinators. You can also separate the purpurea root thingies into chunks and propagate them that way. From personal experience, and from everyone I have talked to, the other species of echinacea are decidedly cranky; you have to work at it to get them to grow. Angustifolia is a poor germinator until you figure out just what it likes; stratification is essential for the plant—however, soaking the seeds in ethephon for 10 minutes will help germination tremendously, much more than stratification.
At one time it was almost impossible to get anything other than purpurea to put in a garden, but that has changed—many people now have seedlings available of most of the echinacea species. Horizon Herbs (see Resources) has one of the best selections. The plants self-seed once established, so beginning with seedlings and tending them carefully until they take is a good route to go if you want this medicinal as a permanent member of your herb garden.
Fall-harvest the roots—after 3 years or so in the ground—after the leaves turn brown. Harvest the seed heads just after the seeds mature. I prefer my root tincture to be from dried roots rather than fresh, but then I use angustifolia and am in a minority in this; most people use the fresh purpurea roots. In any event, let the (angustifolia) roots dry whole, then store them in plastic bags in the dark in a cool location. They will last for years if properly stored. (Studies on years-old dried roots found them just as effective as the fresh roots in their actions.)
You can harvest the fresh plants for juicing anytime, the German approach, and that won’t kill the plant as taking the roots does. The plants are most potent if you take them in full flower, then run them through a juicer, and stabilize the juice with 20 percent alcohol by volume (see page 227).
Echinacoside, echinacin, echinoline, echinacein, polyacetylenes, hydrocinnamic acid, betaine, alkylamides, caffeic acid glycosides, inulin, isobutyl amides, isobutylalkamines, sesquiterpene esters, and so on.
Nope.
Nein.
The various echinacea species were used for a very long time by the indigenous cultures of North America, who then passed on the knowledge to the nascent American medical movements (who really went with it). The native cultures used the plants, most often the roots, for wounds and sores; as a poultice for swellings; for septic wounds, sores in the mouth or gums, respiratory infections, sore throat, tonsillitis, enlarged glands, fevers, mumps and measles; as a wash for the pain of burns; for toothache and cavities; for snakebites and poisonous bites from insects and spiders; stomach cramps, GI tract distress, arthritis, rheumatism. They took large frequent doses.
The Eclectics were first alerted to the plant by its usefulness for snakebite treatment but went on to use it as one of their primary medicines. Generally, they used it much like the native cultures. They, however, felt the herb specific for septicemia, infected blood, severely infected wounds (with blood infection), generally infected mucous membrane systems of the throat, tongue, mouth, lungs, and stomach, tonsillitis, respiratory infections with foul smell, diphtheria, infected insect bites, and on and on and on. They used large frequent doses—every half hour to hour. The Eclectics only used angustifolia; they did not consider purpurea a legitimate substitute for it nor a very good herb in and of itself.
The use of Echinacea purpurea came about not only because of ease of growth but due to intense German interest in the plant; it is part of their standard-practice medicine. (They used purpurea because it was easy to grow and was already present in the country.) Most, if not all, of the German studies and use, however, have been with the expressed juice of the plant—which they often use parenterally (by injection) rather than taken by mouth; they don’t use the root of purpurea. Hello—they don’t use the root of purpurea. They do use the root of E. pallida as an ethanolic extract taken by mouth. Purpurea root came into vogue in the United States during the herbal renaissance of the late twentieth century because of the German use of the expressed juice of the aerial parts of the plant in flower (an invalid generalization to the root from the actions of the fresh juice) and because it was easily available in the eastern United States. It is native to the eastern United States and is widely grown there in gardens.
E. purpurea is used in Germany as a supportive therapy for colds, for chronic infections of the respiratory and lower urinary tract, or externally for poorly healing wounds and chronic ulceration. The tincture of E. pallida root is used as supportive therapy for influenza-like infections. Supportive, not primary.
Most of the usable studies on echinacea have used the fresh juice of Echinacea purpurea. Unless otherwise noted, that is what these studies are referring to. There have been hundreds of papers published on the plant; this is just a sampling.
But first … echinacea (all species) really has two primary actions: it stimulates the immune system and it is a very potent hyaluronidase inhibitor. Many of its most potent medicinal actions come from these two things.
Hyaluronidase (HYL) is an enzyme that breaks down hyaluronic acid (HA), a glycosaminoglycan that is widely distributed throughout connective, epithelial, and neural tissues. It is, as well, a major part of the extracellular matrix. Inhibition of hyaluronidase has a number of beneficial actions: 1) In inflammatory diseases such as various forms of arthritis, the use of a hyaluronidase inhibitor stops the normal (and abnormal) breakdown of cartilage (and synovial fluid), which increases the amount of cartilage (and fluid) in and around the joints, helping counteract, even reverse, the condition. Combined with the anti-inflammatory actions of the herb, this means that large doses can be highly useful for reversing various forms of arthritis and rheumatism. 2) Hyaluronic acid is a major component of the skin and is highly involved in skin repair. HA contributes to tissue dynamics, cell movement and proliferation, and the generation of new cellular tissues. HA is strongly present in new wounds and enhances cellular filtration. It is an essential element of granulation; that is, the new cellular tissue that slowly takes the place of the clotted blood (scab) that first forms over a wound. This tissue forms from the bottom of the wound upward. The more HA, the faster and better it forms. Hyaluronidase inhibition means that more HA is present in the skin/wound area and skin repair is significantly enhanced. 3) With many types of cancer, hyaluronidase plays a major role in metastasis. It degrades the extracellular matrix and allows cancer cells to escape the main tumor mass. HYL also degrades other cellular structures, allowing the cancer cells to penetrate them as well. It also plays a role in the formation of the new blood vessels that cancerous tumors need to survive. HYL inhibition, then, produces a particular kind of anticancer, or antitumor, action. 4) Some bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus spp., Clostridium spp., Enterococcus spp., Mycobacterium spp., etc.) create and release hyaluronidase in order to loosen the connective tissue matrix and facilitate their penetration into new areas of the body. Part of what echinacea does is to strengthen the structure of the mucous and skin membranes of the body by stopping their structural breakdown through HYL inhibition while at the same time counteracting the HYL release by bacteria. This stops the bacterial movement into the body. A number of viruses also use HYL to help them penetrate the body; this is especially true of cancer viruses. 5) Hyaluronidase is also found in some snake venoms. It increases the lethality of the venom, in part by allowing it to penetrate more easily into the body.
Echinacea is antiviral; it’s been found active against HIV and influenza H5N1, H7N7, and H1N1 (swine origin). However, in order to inactivate the influenza strains, it needs direct contact just prior to or right at the moment of infection. Echinacea inhibits receptor cell binding activity of the virus, interfering with its entry into the cells while at the same time strengthening the protective power of the mucous membranes through HYL inhibition.
Echinacea is antibacterial; it inactivates Streptococcus pyogenes, Haemophilus influenzae, Propionbacterium acnes, and Legionella pneumophila. It also completely reverses the inflammatory processes that are initiated by those organisms. Echinacea is less active against Staphylococcus aureus and Mycobacterium smegmatis but also completely reverses the inflamation that they cause. Again, direct contact is necessary.
Echinacea is also active against Leishmania major promastigotes and Leishmania enrietti. E. angustifolia is active against Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Echinacea is also active against numerous species of Candida. In vitro research found that a hexane extract of echinacea inhibited Candida shehata, C. kefyr, C. albicans, C. steatulytica, and C. tropicalis. In other studies echinacea increased the proliferation of phagocytes in spleen and bone marrow and the migration of granulocytes to peripheral blood. These studies found that echinacea was specifically active against systemic candida in the blood. In fact, mice were then protected from lethal injections of the yeast directly into the blood. In mice whose levels of leukocytes in the peripheral blood had been reduced through injection of cyclophosphamide, echinacea initiated an influx of neutrophil granulocytes that protected the mice from candida infection.
In a study of recurrent candida vaginal yeast infections, half the women were treated with econazole nitrate (EN) alone, the other half were treated with EN and echinacea. Those using EN alone had a 60 percent recurrence rate, while those using EN and echinacea had only a 17 percent recurrence rate.
The alcoholic extract of E. pallida reverses stress-delayed wound healing in mice. E. purpurea enhances wound healing in vocal fold wounds in pigs. Echinacea (type not stated but probably purpurea) enhances fibrin formation in skin grafts, increases wound healing time, stimulates the formation of new connective tissue, and reduces leukocytic infiltration.
Angustifolia, purpurea, and pallida are all potent inhibitors of nitric oxide. Pallida is the strongest. Arginase activity is significantly increased by all three, but only pallida inhibits inducible nitric oxide synthase.
Most echinacea species strongly inhibit PGE production; sanguinea is strongest, followed by angustifolia and pallida.
Constituents of echinacea (echinacoside, etc.) protect collagen from free-radical-induced degradation.
Angustifolia is 10 times more potent a pain reliever than capsaicin. It acts by desensitizing the TRPV1 channel.
Echinacea reversed the system effects of gamma-irradiated mice: Red blood cell parameters, white blood cell parameters, and bone marrow cell parameters were all ameliorated. Echinacea (type not stated) was found to significantly abate leukemia and extend the life span of leukemic mice.
Echinacea increases the expression of CD69 and CD25 immune cells in vitro.
In vitro studies on the effects of seven species of echinacea on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) found that tinctures from four (angustifolia, pallida, paradoxa, and tennesseensis) stimulated proliferation of PBMCs and increased interleukin-2 (IL-2). Two tinctures (sanguinea and simulata) stimulated proliferation only. E. purpurea stimulated IL-2 only. None of the extracts affected IL-4 or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). However, if volunteers were first immunized against influenza and that blood tested, tinctures from four (pallida, paradoxa, sanguinea, and simulata) diminished influenza-specific IL-2. None affected influenza-specific IL-10 or interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma). With blood drawn 6 months postvaccination, four tinctures (50 percent alcohol, angustifolia, purpurea, simulata, and tennesseensis) augmented IL-10 production and diminished IL-2, with no effect on IFN-gamma. Two (paradoxa and sanguinea) were similar though weaker. E. pallida suppressed all cytokines. The authors note that the various species have different immune-modulating actions.
Three echinacea species were tested for in vivo (mice) enhancement of innate and adaptive immune functions. All three (angustifolia, purpurea, and pallida) significantly increased antibody response, altered cytokine expression by splenic cells, significantly increased interferon-alpha production, and inhibited the release of TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta. Only two (angustifolia and pallida) strongly enhanced T cell proliferation, significantly stimulated IL-4 production, and decreased IL-10.
Alkamides from echinacea (type not stated) were found to potently inhibit inflammation in human blood and to exert modulatory effects on various cytokine expression (up-regulating IL-6 and inhibiting TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-12p70).
A butanol fraction from purpurea stems and leaves significantly up-regulated specific genes for IL-8, IL-1 beta, IL-18, and the chemokines CXCL2, CCL5, and CCL2 within 4 hours after treatment of immature dendritic cells.
In vivo studies on mice vaccinated with killed Salmonella typhimurium vaccine or an inactivated pertussis vaccine consisting of diphtheria/tetanus toxoids and inactivated virulence factors of Bordetella pertussis found that E. angustifolia and purpurea significantly increased antibody production and proliferation as well as IL-12 levels.
A rather large number of studies found that echinacea activates cellular immunity and stimulates phagocytosis of neutrophils in vitro, in vivo, and, in one case, after rinsing of the mouth cavity. In numerous studies echinacea increases interferon-gamma production, stimulates T helper cell production and proliferation, and strongly enhances CD4 and CD8 subsets.
Echinacea has a wide range of actions on the immune system and is both highly stimulatory and modulatory. It is an effective modulator of macrophage immune responses. It enhances antibody responses to infection. It is 30 percent more effective, for example, than sodium alginate in the stimulation of antivenom (snake) antibodies. It stimulates the production of neutrophils, macrophages, and T and B cells.
Family: Araliaceae
Common Names: (English) eleuthero • Siberian ginseng • touch-me-not • devil’s shrub
Species Used: There are 25 or maybe 38 species (thanks, guys) in the genus, and while the primary one used is Eleutherococcus senticosus, there is emerging evidence that a number of the species are also medicinally active in similar ways. Eleutherococcus sessiflorus is used in Korea, identically to eleuthero. Eleutherococcus cissifolius is used in Tibet, fresh juice for eczema.
Eleutherococcus spinosus (a.k.a. E. pentaphyllus, fiveleaf aralia) is an invasive in the United States in Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Utah, and West Virginia, and, as well, Ontario, Canada. It is used similarly to eleuthero as a tonic adaptogen for general debility, rheumatic pains, and weakness. Its use should be explored as a now locally established, important immune plant and adaptogen.
Note: Acanthopanax senticosus is sometimes given as a synonym for E. senticosus.
The root is the most commonly used part of the plant, but the bark from the woody stems is actually higher in what is considered to be the most active constituent of the plant (eleutheroside B). The fruits are also usable and the leaves have some activity as well. The Chinese use every part of the plant in various ways for this and that.
There are, in general, three primary forms of eleuthero that are used:
1) the Russian high-concentration formulations, generally 2:1, 1:1, or 1:2;
2) lower-strength 1:5 tincture formulations; and, finally,
3) capsules, usually standardized in some way or another (though I prefer the powdered herb myself).
If you are growing the plant and making your own extracts, the eleutheroside B content in the bark of woody stems is about four times that of the roots, so use that rather than kill the plant to get the roots.
Actions
Adaptogen (a substance that increases nonspecific resistance to adverse influences)
Adrenal tonic
Antidepressant
Antifatigue
Antistressor
Helps restore task endurance
Immune potentiator
Immune tonic
Immunoadjuvant
MAO inhibitor
Mental clarity stimulant
Most of the Russian studies were conducted using a 1:1 tincture in 30 percent to 33 percent alcohol. The dosage ranged from 2 to 20 ml per day (the smaller dose is a smidgeon under ½ teaspoon). This means people were taking from 1/16 to ⅔ ounce (and in some instances up to 1½ ounces) of tincture per day. At an average cost of $7 to $12 per ounce of tincture (in the United States) this can be prohibitively expensive at the upper dosage ranges.
The Russians generally dosed 2 to 16 ml, one to three times daily for 60 days with a 2- to 3-week rest period in between. Russian researchers, at these kinds of dosages, saw responses within a few days or even hours of administration.
In this concentration, and at those doses, eleuthero is an immune stimulant, not a tonic. Using it at those doses in this concentrated a form is, in my opinion, specific for debilitating diseases accompanied by severe fatigue, brain fog, depression, muscle weakness, tendency to start getting better with inevitable relapse, and chronically depressed immune function.
You can, of course, take lower doses of the concentrated extracts, which would indeed make the tincture more tonic in nature.
Dosage of the Russian formulation in treating chronic, debilitating disease: Please read carefully. In chronic, highly debilitated conditions, the stronger Russian formulation is the only type of tincture that should be used—at least initially. I suggest the product sold by Herb Pharm, which is the only company I know of that actually exceeds the Russian specifications. Their formula is a 2:1 rather than a 1:1 (i.e., 2 parts herb to 1 part liquid rather than 1 and 1).
For the first 30–60 days: 1 tsp, 3x daily, the last dose occurring no later than 4 P.M. This dose can be increased if necessary.
After 60 days: Discontinue the herb for 2 weeks.
Then: Repeat if necessary.
If symptoms decrease after using the Russian formulation for a while and immune function seems better, you can change to either an encapsulated form or a 1:5 alcohol/water tincture (see below). Both of these are weaker, but more tonic, in their actions.
If symptoms and overall health are better on the stronger extract but worsen once you stop it, or if the presenting symptoms are severe, then the extract may be a better choice for continual use instead. Continue the dosage of the stronger extract: 30–60 days on, 2–3 weeks off, 30–60 days on, and so on.
I have generally used, and prefer in conditions other than persistent chronic disease (e.g., Lyme disease) or severe chronic fatigue, a weaker tincture, as do many American herbalists and herbal companies: 1:5, 60 percent alcohol, 1 dropperful (1/3 tsp) of the tincture, 1–3x daily for up to a year.
In my experience this dosage and pattern of use is less stimulating to the system and the long-term effects are better. The body gradually uses the herb to build itself up over time, the herb acting more as a long-term tonic and rejuvenative than an active stimulant. With this type of tincture it is not necessary to stop every 1 to 2 months, nor have I seen any of the side effects that can occur with the stronger Russian formula. The Chinese, much less given to tincturing anyway, use 4.5–27 grams, often as a decoction or powder.
This weaker American tincture in my clinical experience takes 6 months to become really effective and should be used at least that long; a year is better. It is great for long-term, mild chronic conditions that won’t resolve and that present, in Caucasians, with a pallid face, poor elasticity in the skin, mild skin eruptions, weak energy, monotonic voice, and general passivity.
As an encapsulated form I suggest 1,200 mg minimum daily. In acute conditions 3x that amount. Some manufacturers used to standardize the herb to 0.8 percent eleutherosides B&E, but that is becoming less common as the herb is understood better. I am not sure it is necessary.
I like this form of the root and, in conditions such as severe, long-term chronic fatigue, blend it with some other powdered herbs that I buy by the pound (Pacific Botanicals—see Resources—is good for this): 2 parts each eleuthero, astragalus, milk thistle seed, and spirulina, and 1 part each licorice, chlorella, turmeric, and ashwagandha. Take it for a year, ¼ cup of the blend, every night just before bed, mixed in 8 to 12 ounces juice or water in a blender. It will turn the condition around.
I also use it by itself sometimes, a tablespoon in a bit of water or juice.
Insomnia and hyperactivity can occur with use of the stronger Russian formulation, especially when taken in large doses. Do not take after 4 P.M., just an FYI on that one.
Eleutherococcus is, in general, completely nontoxic and the Russians have reported the use of exceptionally large doses for up to 20 years with no adverse reactions. It is especially indicated for people with pale unhealthy skin, lassitude, and depression.
For almost all people no side effects have been noted. A very small number of people have experienced transient diarrhea. It may temporarily increase blood pressure in some people. This tends to drop to normal within a few weeks. Caution should be exercised for people with very high blood pressure (180/90) especially if eleuthero is combined with other hypertensives such as licorice.
With extreme overuse: tension and insomnia.
Increases the effects of hexobarbital, monomycin, kanamycin.
Siberian ginseng, a persistent, aggressive shrub from 3 to 15 feet in height, grows throughout parts of China, Russia, Korea, and even a bit in the northern islands of Japan. The plant is native to, as Richo Cech at Horizon Herbs puts it, “cold northern lakeshores and woods of China and Siberia.” Essentially, it likes mixed and coniferous mountain forests that have good soils and get a bit cold. I have found related aralias growing to 9,500 feet (2,900 m) in the Colorado mountains in similar terrain. The American ginseng grows in similar, though wetter, and not nearly so high, terrain in the Midwest and northeastern United States, often among oaks or oak/pine mixed forest. Eleuthero will apparently grow wherever other aralias have established themselves—similar-terrain sort of thing.
Eleuthero’s stem is covered with spines and the plant, when mature, presents an aggressive, intimidating presence that has given rise to some of its common Russian names: touch-me-not and devil’s shrub. After flowering, it produces clusters of blue-black berries a bit similar to blueberries in appearance. Typical aralia/ginseng family leaves.
Due to its popularity as a medicinal, it is undergoing heavy planting in the United States and has begun to escape captivity. Soon it will be, like a number of important medicinals (among them Japanese knot-weed and about half of the antibacterials discussed in this book), a naturalized, aggressive weed with qualities unknown to those it irritates. (It is currently considered invasive in Ohio and Tennessee.)
The plant is generally cultivated from seeds, but it will, so they say, apparently sprout easily from stem and root cuttings as well—strip or prune off the lower leaves from the stems, stick into moist potting soil or well-drained garden soil—in autumn. Keep moist until well rooted. Eleuthero, according to gardeners whom I trust, likes rich soil, lots of water, and deep woods. However, some other sources indicate the plant is hardy to zone 3 and can grow in sandy, loamy, or clay soils, even if they are nutritionally poor, even in full or partial sun. I don’t know, I haven’t seen an aralia or ginseng grow in those kind of soils or conditions. Nice, though, if true.
Horizon Herbs (see Resources) sells stratified seeds in hydrated coir, pretty much guaranteed to germinate. Once established, the plant never goes away. It takes about 4 years before the plant is mature enough to produce flowers and seeds. The eleutheroside content is much higher by the fourth year. Don’t harvest before then.
The roots and stem bark are harvested in the fall. Cut the larger roots into smaller pieces, peel the stem bark off in strips. Leave in a drying tray until antihydration is completed. Store as usual—plastic bags, in plastic bins, out of the light in a cool location. I would strongly suggest harvesting the fruit and drying it for later use in syrups.
Commercially purchased root in bulk will already be cut and sifted or powdered to industry standards.
Eleutherosides A through M, ciwujianosides, eleutherans, isofraxidin, friedelin, beta-sitosterol, daucosterol, ethylgalactoside, chlorogenic acid, rosmarinic acid, and so on. A lot of people think the eleutherosides are the important adaptogenic and immune constituents, especially eleutheroside B and perhaps E.
Chlorogenic acid is a fairly strong antioxidant and antihyperglycemic with antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal actions. It slows the movement of glucose into the blood. Rosmarinic acid is also potently antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, with antiviral and antibacterial actions as well.
Eleutheroside B content in the bark of the woody stems (400 mg/100 gm) is nearly four times that of the roots; eleutheroside E content, however (30 mg/100 gm), is only about one-third that of the roots. The fruits have about the same eleutheroside E content as the stem bark but only about one-tenth the eleutheroside B content. The stem bark (850 mg/100 gm) has 50 percent more chlorogenic acid than the roots but half the rosmarinic acid (11 mg/100 gm). The fruits have half as much chlorogenic acid but eight times the rosmarinic acid as the stem bark. The fruits are high in rutoside (150 mg/100 gm), the stem bark not so much (66 mg/100 gm).
Though used in China for several thousand years, Eleutherococcus was brought to prominence by intensive Russian research in the latter half of the twentieth century. Then the emerging herbal renaissance in the United States caught wind of it, retitled the plant Siberian ginseng, and the boom was born. It became a major herb-of-the-day for a while, then was supplanted by rhodiola—the new kid on the block.
No record of it in my library or anyplace else I can find.
Acanthopanax gracilistylus and A. senticosus (a.k.a. Eleutherococcus senticosus) are both used in Chinese medicine. The former plant goes by wu jia pi and is used for relieving rheumatic conditions, for strengthening the tendons and bones, and for rheumatic arthralgia, weakness in the legs, retarded walking in children (striking image), general weakness and debility. It does have some of the same eleutherosides in it.
Eleutherococcus senticosus goes by ciwujia in the Chinese system and does have a fairly strong presence in Chinese medicine. The Chinese use the root but also consider the stems, leaves, and fruit to be effective medicinals. Eleuthero is, in their system, vital-energy tonifying, spleen invigorating, kidney tonifying, and tranquilizing. It is used primarily for asthenia of the spleen and kidney, weakness and soreness of the lower back and knees, physical weakness, insomnia, frequent dreaming, and anorexia.
The Chinese have done some pretty good research on it as well.
Unknown in the West (unless you count Russia) until the herbal boom in the latter half of the twentieth century.
Eleutherococcus has a number of complex effects on the body; there are four important ones: 1) on the hypothalamus/pituitary/adrenal system; 2) on the immune system; 3) on the liver and pancreas; and 4) on the heart and circulatory system. All these actions combine to produce the plant’s unique adaptogenic actions.
The hypothalamus/pituitary/adrenal system: Eleutherococcus maintains the functioning of the hypothalamus/pituitary/adrenal system at optimum levels, altering its function in response to external factors. (As well, the herb appears to act as an adrenal tonic, helping restore function and health in both overworked and damaged adrenals.) If a person is under severe stress, the system ramps up; if the stress is less, the system activity lowers—in essence, the definition of an adaptogen. It helps the body adapt to external stressors, no matter what they are. The result of this is more energy, greater endurance, and enhanced response capacity to demands on the system.
The immune system: The herb has the same effects on the immune system; in other words, it maintains its functioning at optimum levels in response to outside stressors. In this instance, the stressors are disease organisms entering the body. Studies have found that how the immune system responds depends on what kind of disease stressor is affecting it. The different parts of the immune system are activated to match the particular type of stressor affecting the organism. Eleuthero has particularly strong effects on the spleen and spleen functioning.
The liver and pancreas: Eleutherococcus strongly affects the way the body deals with glucose in both the liver and pancreas, essentially optimizing how both organs affect glucose and then optimizing the actions of glucose in the body. This substantially increases energy levels. Essentially, it is fuel optimization.
The heart and circulatory system: The herb affects heart and vessel function, optimizing oxygen uptake, availability, and use in the body, thus increasing energy and endurance. Tendency toward hypoxia is reduced, no matter the cause.
Pharmacokinetic studies have found that the constituents from Eleutherococcus are first concentrated in the liver, kidneys, spleen, and pancreas. Within 2 to 4 hours they concentrate in the pituitary, heart, and adrenals. There are lesser concentrations in the thymus, testes, and brain. The concentration in the adrenals is three times that of the other organs. The constituents, once they reach the organs, begin exerting specific effects.
In the pancreas, the constituents concentrate in the islets of Langerhans, which are responsible for insulin synthesis. Eleutherococcus stimulates more efficient functioning of the islets, protects them from damage, and can both reverse and prevent alloxan-induced injury to them. This is part of the way the plant exerts effects on glucose metabolism. The resynthesis of glycogen is enhanced in the liver and throughout the body. Thus, as glycogen levels fall during exertion, they are resynthesized very rapidly so that energy levels remain high.
In the spleen, eleuthero stimulates the production of antibodies and facilitates the removal of antibody-coated bacteria. The production of monocytes is increased and their movement to injured tissues is facilitated, as is their transformation into macrophages. This increases phagocytosis, macrophage activity, and both innate and adaptive immune responses. Dendritic cell numbers and function are also increased. Dendritic cells are highly present in tissues that contact the external environment—skin, nose, lungs, stomach, intestines—as well as in the blood. They interact with T and B cells to initiate and shape adaptive immune responses. They are a crucial and major part of the immune system, and they are highly activated by Eleutherococcus; in essence, they become more potently adaptable in their immune responses.
Again, Eleutherococcus’s effects on the immune system are both stimulatory and modulatory; that is, the potency and sensitivity of the system is increased but how it behaves after that depends on the stressors the body is experiencing. Numerous studies, in vivo, show that Eleutherococcus significantly increases the survival time and number of survivors of mice injected with lethal microbes, irrespective of the disease organism used. It is highly stimulatory of the adaptive immune response to disease. The plant also helps the body more effectively deal with pollutants and toxic overload.
Additionally, Eleutherococcus does have some antiviral action. It inhibits human rhinovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, and influenza A virus in vitro. This, combined with its immune actions, makes it a perfect herb in helping prevent viral infections. One Russian study on young men using the herb found a significantly reduced incidence of influenza infection compared to those who did not use the herb. Another Russian study of 13,000 auto workers found that those who took the herb developed 40 percent fewer respiratory infections than was normal for their group. And in yet another one, conducted from 1973–1975, 1,200 auto workers were given the herb with tea annually for 2 months each time; disease incidence decreased by 20 percent to 30 percent, depending on the year.
A number of clinical trials have shown significant immune-enhancing activity, including significant increases in immunocompetent cells, specifically T lymphocytes (helper/inducers, cytotoxic, and natural killer cells). Tests of the herb have repeatedly shown that it increases the ability of human beings to withstand adverse conditions, increases mental alertness, and improves performance. People taking the herb consistently report fewer illnesses than those who do not take the herb. Part of its power is its ability to act as a tonic stimulant on the adrenal glands. It normalizes adrenal activity and moves adrenal action away from a cortisol/catabolic dynamic to a DHEA/anabolic orientation. Basically, this reduces stress and normalizes physiological functioning throughout the body.
In another Russian clinical trial, 2,100 healthy adults were given the herb and found to better handle stressful conditions. They showed increased ability to perform physical labor, withstand motion sickness, and work with speed and precision despite loud surroundings. Their ability to accurately proofread documents increased and they more readily adapted to diverse physical stresses: high altitudes, heat, and low-oxygen environments.
Other studies have found that the herb heightens mental alertness, improves concentration, and boosts the transmission of nerve impulses in the brain.
There are scores of Russian studies; this just touches on them. A number of other studies have been conducted in the United States and Europe, most often on athlete endurance—which the herb helps.
The Chinese have done a number of studies on the plant. In vivo studies have found the plant to have significant calming actions in the CNS, to be highly regulatory of the body’s response to nonspecific stimuli, to increase tolerance to hypoxia, to be protective from radiation exposure, to be actively detoxicant, to be a potent antistressor, to rectify endocrine disorders, to modulate both red and white blood cell levels and blood pressure levels, to have a wide range of immune modulation actions, to be antineoplastic and anti-inflammatory, to optimize heart function, to be gonadotrophic, and to stimulate tissue regeneration.
Chinese clinical studies found the herb useful in treating physical symptoms due to anxiety (insomnia, palpitations, anxiety, dizziness, and so on), to reverse leukopenia due to radiation, to be highly effective in treating coronary diseases of various etiology, and to be effective in acute obstructive cerebral thrombosis, chronic bronchitis in elderly patients, altitude sickness, arthritis, and chronic fatigue.
Eleutherococcus senticosus is strongly antihepatotoxic and hepatoprotective in vivo against CCL4-induced hepatotoxicity and is a hepatoregenerator, significantly stimulating liver regeneration in animals with portions of their liver surgically removed. Other studies have found the plant to have anticancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activity, to be of value in ischemic stroke, and to be fairly neuroprotective, while at the same time increasing mental alertness and acuity.
There is a fairly good reading list on the plant in the bibliography.
Family: Rhamnaceae
Common Names: In the old days it was supposedly called “New Jersey tea,” but I never heard anyone use that phrase, at least when referring to a plant.
Species Used: Homo dissertationus has determined that there are 50 or 60 or 4 to the third power species of Ceanothus in the Americas, from Canada to Guatemala. The genus doesn’t grow anyplace else. (However, it has been widely planted as an ornamental in Europe. Take a flashlight and go late at night.) Most species can be used medicinally; the most common are C. velutinus, C. cuneatus, C. integerrimus, C. greggii, and C. americanus. All species are apparently identical in their medicinal actions. My personal favorite is Ceanothus fendleri, a.k.a. Fendler’s ceanothus, which grows in my region and which I have been using for over 25 years. The important part is the color of the bark—see Cultivation and Collection on page 295.
The root or inner bark of the root.
Red root can be used as a tincture, tea, strong decoction, gargle, or capsules.
Dry root, 1:5, 50 percent alcohol, 30–90 drops, up to 4x daily.
1 tsp powdered root in 8 ounces water, simmer 15 minutes, strain. Drink up to 6 cups daily.
1 ounce herb in 16 ounces water, simmer slowly 30 minutes, strain. Take 1 tablespoon 3x or 4x per day.
Gargle for tonsillitis or throat inflammations: Gargle with strong decoction 4–6 times per day.
Take 10–30 “00” capsules per day.
Actions
First and foremost a lymph system stimulant and tonic. Red root is anti-inflammatory for both the liver and spleen. It is also an astringent, mucous membrane tonic, alterative, antiseptic, expectorant, antispasmodic, and exceptionally strong blood coagulant.
No side effects have been noted; however, it is contraindicated in pregnancy.
Should not be used with pharmaceutical coagulants or anticoagulants.
The various species in this genus seemingly grow everywhere in North and Central America, from Canada to Guatemala, from sea-level coastal scrublands to pine forests at 9,000 feet (2,750 m) or higher. They can grow in hot, humid locations and semi-arid desert areas. They are widely divergent in appearance, too, from tiny deciduous ground covers (up to 12 inches tall) to large evergreen bushes (to 9 feet tall) to “small” trees to 25 feet in height. Their foliage ranges from tiny leathery leaves to large broad softies. Some species’ branches have “spines,” some don’t. They do all have leaves, though, so identification should not be a problem.
The flowers grows in tufted clusters and are intensely fragrant. (Yummy to my nose—at least with C. fendleri.) The seed capsules are identical on all species I have seen, three-lobed triangular things that, again in all species I have seen, turn a reddish color, the exact color of the root bark (and tincture), when mature. That and the flowers, once you have seen them, are the easiest ways to identify the genus.
This genus has been intensively cultivated and there are scores if not hundreds of cultivars and hybrids. Adding to the confusion, the plants mix with abandon in the wild and … well, basically they just have sex whenever and with whomever they wish and the result is a very variable genus. In any event, you can get a large number of types if you wish to grow the species yourself. The genus should grow in just about any geographical location and I would be surprised if it had not already made a home in other places than the Americas by first masquerading as an ornamental (ahh, it has!). If so, it will soon escape into the wild, where it will be found to be invasive, for, in ceanothus habitat, there are some two million seeds produced per acre once the plants establish themselves. They are propelled under great force out of the capsules (to extend their range) and can remain viable for centuries. I love these guys.
The plants are propagated by seed or cuttings. The seeds need to be scarified first (show them horror films?) and then stratified. They are usually soaked in water for 12 hours followed by chilling for 3 months—mimicking winter.
The roots/inner root bark should be harvested in the fall or early spring—whenever the root has already had a good frost. The inner bark of the root should be a bright red and this color should extend through the white woody root as a pink tinge after a freeze. The root must look like this to be actively medicinal. If you get the roots in the late spring, summer, or early fall, they will be white throughout with just a hint of pink in the inner bark. They just will not work like that. It takes that cold snap to stimulate the production of the chemical constituents that you need the plant for.
Caution: The root is extremely tough when it dries. It should be cut into small 1- or 2-inch pieces with plant snips while still fresh or you will regret it. Really. Trust me on this one thing.
Store the cut and dried roots in plastic bags in large plastic bins in a cool place and they will last you for years.
Betulin, betulinic acid, bacteriohopanetetrol, ceanothic acid, ceanothenic acid, ceanothine, ceanothamine, ceanothane, americine, integerressine, integerrenine, integerrine, methyl salycilate, a lot of tannins, flavonoids, flavonol glycosides, flavonones, dihydroflavonols. The leaves have a somewhat different profile, but I won’t include it here as the root is what we are dealing with. The plant is fairly high in protein, iron, copper, zinc, and magnesium and very high in calcium. The roots are nitrogen fixers and possess nitrogen-filled nodules.
Red root is an important herb in many disease conditions in that it helps facilitate clearing of dead cellular tissue from the lymph system. When the immune system is responding to acute conditions or the onset of disease, as white blood cells kill bacterial and viral pathogens, they are taken to the lymph system for disposal. If the lymph system clears out dead cellular material rapidly, the healing process is enhanced, sometimes dramatically. The herb shows especially strong action whenever any portion of the lymph system is swollen, infected, or inflamed. This includes the lymph nodes, tonsils (entire back of throat), spleen, appendix, and liver.
Nope.
Not remotely.
Red root has a very long history in the Americas. The indigenous cultures used the plant for a wide range of complaints from arthritis to influenza, primarily as an astringent. The early American herbalists picked it up and the Eclectics then developed the use of the plant considerably, using it as an astringent, expectorant, sedative, antispasmodic, and antisyphilitic. It was used specifically for gonorrhea, dysentery, asthma, chronic bronchitis, whooping cough, general pulmonary problems, and oral ulcerations due to fever and infection. Its primary use, however, was for enlarged spleen and, to some extent, enlarged liver.
There hasn’t been much study on the plant, however, and really nothing looking in depth at its actions on the lymph system, including the spleen, though there are some nice hints here and there.
In recent years there has been a minor amount of exploration on the antimicrobial actions of red root. Several of the root compounds have been found active against various oral pathogens including Streptococcus mutans, Actinomyces viscosus, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Prevotella intermedia. The flowers are active against Staphylococcus aureus and a couple of candida species; the roots probably are, too.
Betulin and betulinic acid, which are fairly prominent in the root, have a broad range of actions, both in vivo and in vitro: antiplasmodial, anti-HIV, anti-inflammatory, anthelmintic, antioxidant, antitumor, immunomodulatory. Ceonothane is fairly strongly antistaphylococcal, antiplasmodial, and antimycobacterial. These various actions are going to have some effect on bacterial diseases, but exactly what and how much is not clear.
There is some evidence that red root’s activity in the lymph nodes also enhances the lymph nodes’ production of lymphocytes, specifically the formation of T cells. Clinicians working with AIDS patients, who historically have low levels of T cells, have noted increases after the use of red root. It is especially effective in reducing inflammations in the spleen and liver from such things as excessive bacterial garbage, white blood cell detritus in the lymph, and red blood cell fragments in the blood in diseases like babesiosis. There is evidence, clinical, that it has broad action throughout the lymph system and helps reduce not only the spleen but also the appendix when inflamed and that it stimulates lymph drainage as well in the intestinal walls.
A number of human trials have used the herb as a tincture extract (usually 10 to 15 ml per person). The trials focused on heavy bleeding, including excessive menstruation, and the plant was found to be a powerful coagulant and hemostatic in all studies. A marked reduction of clotting time was noted.
In one study, a single oral administration of 3.5 to 7.0 ml of a hydro-alcoholic (tincture) extract of Ceanothus (americanus) resulted in an interesting effect: At low doses accelerated blood clotting occurred within 10 to 20 minutes after administration. However, at higher doses coagulation decreased 1 hour after administration. This raises interesting speculations about the herb’s range of actions.
In vivo studies have shown marked hemostatic activity and hypotensive action. In vitro studies have also found a strong reverse transcriptase inhibition and a broad antifungal activity.
Family: Ganodermataceae
Common Names: Reishi, which is the Japanese name for the plant, has become the most common name for the herb in the West.
Actions
Analgesic
Antiallergenic
Antibacterial
Antihepatotoxic
Antihyperbilirubinemic
Antihyperlipemic
Antihypertriglyceridemic
Anti-inflammatory
Antinephrotoxic
Antitumor
Antiviral
Cholagogue
Choleretic
Coronary vasodilator
Cytotoxic
Hepatoregenerator
Hypocholesterolemic
Hypotensive
Immunomodulator
Immunostimulant
Spleen and thymus tonic
As an immune stimulant, reishi stimulates interleukin 1 and 2, phagocytosis, and lymphocyte proliferation, enhances natural killer cells, activates macrophages, enhances polymorphonuclear leukocytes, protects and enhances T cells, enhances thymus weight and functioning, stimulates gamma-interferon production. As an antitumor agent, it also reduces the proliferation of tumor cells and inhibits tumor necrosis factor. And as an antiviral, it’s been shown to be active against numerous viruses, including HBV and HIV.
Species Used: There are 80 or maybe 250 species of ganoderma (taxonomy is a science?). A number of them are used medicinally. The primary medicinal is considered to be Ganoderma lucidum but G. luteum, G. tsugae, G. applanatum, G. australe, G. capense, G. tropicum, G. tenue, and G. sinense are also used.
In the Chinese system all are considered to possess slightly different effects. The mushrooms are grouped, medicinally, by their color. Blue (sour) is considered to improve eyesight and liver function and calm the nerves; red (bitter) is considered the most medicinally potent, and aids internal organs, improves memory, enhances vitality; yellow (sweet) strengthens spleen function, calms the spirit; white (hot) improves lung function, gives courage and strong will; black (salty) protects the kidneys; and purple (sweet) enhances function of the ears, joints, muscles, and helps the complexion.
Generally the fruiting body, i.e., the mushroom itself, and sometimes the mycelium.
May be taken as tablets, tincture, syrup decoction, or powder, or even used as a soup base.
Take three 1-gram tablets (bought retail) up to 3x daily.
1:5, 20 percent alcohol, 10–20 ml (2–4 tsp), up to 3x daily.
The tincture is best made by first making a decoction of the herb; this will extract the polysaccharides most efficiently. If you have 16 ounces of powdered reishi, you would then use 80 ounces of liquid, 64 ounces of which would be water, and 16 alcohol. Add the powdered or chopped-up reishi to the water, bring to a boil, cover, and slow-boil for 30 minutes. Allow to cool with the lid on. When cool, pour into large jar, add 16 ounces pure grain alcohol, cover, and allow to steep for 2 weeks. Decant, press, and store.
Use 2–5 grams of reishi per quart of water depending on strength desired. Slowly bring to boil and simmer at lowest boil obtainable for 2 hours, uncovered, until the volume of water is reduced by two-thirds. Cool and strain. Consume in the evening before bed or in three equal amounts over the course of the day. In acute conditions the amount consumed can be increased as much as desired.
Take 3–6 grams a day in chronic disease, 9–15 grams a day in acute conditions, equally divided in three doses. Stir into water and drink or encapsulate (6–12 “00” capsules in chronic disease, 18–30 in acute conditions).
For mushroom poisoning: Take 120–200 grams of dried powdered reishi in water, 3–5x daily.
Contraindicated in cases of obstructed bile duct. Occasionally, skin rash, loose stool, dry mouth, sleepiness, bloating, frequent urination, sweating, nausea may occur. Adverse reactions cease upon discontinuance of the herb. In the case of nausea take with meals.
Reishi is synergistic with cefazolin, interferon-alpha, and to some extent interferon-gamma, and potently so with acyclovir. Caution should be exercised if you are on immunosuppresive drugs. There may be an additive effect with blood-thinning medications such as aspirin or warfarin.
Reishi is a hard, tough, woody mushroom that has a shiny or varnished appearance to the cap. The Latin word for the primary medicinal species, lucidum, means “shiny” or “brilliant.” Essentially, so does the genus name Ganoderma, from the Greek, gano meaning “sheen” or “brightness,” derma meaning “skin.” So … the Latinate term for the plant, created by botanists, means “shiny skin shiny.” (Latin terminology is not all that philosophically deep. The sonorous sound of the words just makes us think so.)
The various species range in cap color from yellow to black, but the most common one found wild in the United States, G. lucidum, is red.
Reishi mushrooms grow on a wide variety of trees, often dead or dying, especially deciduous trees such as oak, elm, maple, willow, sweet gum, magnolia, plum, and locust. They will sometimes grow on coniferous trees such as pine, larch, and spruce. They tend to grow in temperate regions.
The fruiting mushroom bodies can be harvested at any time. They don’t need any special treatment. Just let them sit out and dry thoroughly, then store in plastic bags in plastic tubs out of the light. They will last for years.
Reishi can be easily cultivated through the use of inoculated wooden dowels or plugs. It does best in nonaromatic hardwoods. Cut a log into sections, let it sit out for a few months, then drill and insert the plugs, generally in early spring after the last frost. The mycelium will spread through the log the first year and begin producing mushrooms the second year. Try Fungi Perfecti (www.fungi.com) for inoculated plugs and much more information.
Over 400 different bioactive constituents have been identified in reishi so far. One hundred forty of them are triterpenes, primarily ganodermic acids, though there are 10 specific groups. Over 100 additional compounds are polysaccharides, which produce many of the plant’s immune actions. There are numerous other compounds, one of which—the LZ-8 protein—has fairly strong immune-stimulating actions in the spleen and on peripheral lymphocytes.
Apparently unknown, though there is a similar mushroom recorded in Indian lore, a mysterious chih fungus considered to be an herb of immortality. Versions of the Indian legends of the fungus are rife in ancient Chinese literature and are considered, by many historical figures, to be ling chih, or reishi. I can’t find any reference to reishi in Ayurvedic practice in my library, however.
Ganoderma is known as ling chih or ling zhi (mushroom of immortality) in China and reishi (ten-thousand-year mushroom) in Japan, under which name it is now commonly known in the West. The reputation of the herb is as a longevity and vitality-enhancing tonic.
Reishi has been used in China and Japan for at least four thousand years in the treatment of debility from prolonged illness, for “deficiency” fatigue, as an antiaging herb, and for coronary heart disease, hepatitis, kidney disease, arthritis, hypertension, sleep disorders, asthma and bronchitis, ulcer, and nerve pain.
In TCM it is considered warming, tonic, nourishing, antitoxic, astringent, and dispersing of accumulations. At least five species of Ganoderma are used in traditional medicine in China and Japan, each for different disorders. Ganoderma lucidum, in many respects, is considered to be the most potent.
Apparently unknown until its introduction by traditional Chinese practitioners in the mid-to-late twentieth century. Western use has been stimulated by the extensive studies carried out in Japan (for the most part).
The best overviews of Ganoderma, I think, are S. Bhagwan et al., “Ganoderma lucidum: A Potent Pharmacological Macrofungus,” and R. Russel and M. Paterson, “Ganoderma: A Therapeutic Fungal Biofactory.”1 They cover about everything, however … a brief look:
In vivo and in vitro studies have found reishi to be liver regenerative, liver protective, choleretic, liver enzyme normalizing, analgesic, antiallergenic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, antitumor (inhibiting or regressing tumors), hypotensive, a bronchial relaxant, immunostimulant, immunomodulating, cardiotonic, expectorant, and antitussive.
Human trials have found effectiveness for neurasthenia, insomnia, dizziness, duodenal ulcers, liver pain, rhinitis, muscular dystrophy, stress, Alzheimer’s disease, hyperlipidemia, liver failure, diabetes, cancer, immune enhancement, and hepatitis.
Although not primarily thought of as such, reishi is antibacterial, antifungal, and a fairly potent antiviral against a number of pathogens.
Reishi is antibacterial against Helicobacter pylori, Pseudomonas syringae, P. aeruginosa, E. coli, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi, Micrococcus flavus, and Micrococcus luteus.
Reishi is a strong antiviral, especially against hepatitis viruses. It is active against influenza A viruses, potently so against herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 (it also inhibits their attachment and penetration into cells), and strongly so against vesicular stomatitis virus, Epstein-Barr virus, and HIV.
Reishi is active against Candida spp., Microsporum canis, Trichophyton mentagrophytes. It is also active against plasmodial parasites.
Like eleuthero, reishi has profound effects on the immune system, especially the spleen, stimulating its immune responses considerably. Reishi is strongly mitogenic, especially on splenocytes, stimulating the generation of highly active immune cells. It activates immune effector cells such as T cells, macrophages, and natural killer cells and increases the production of cytokines, including interleukins, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and interferons. Reishi potently stimulates macrophages and their activity in the body against pathogens. The primary clinical studies on the enhancement of immune function have occurred with cancer patients; most immune studies have been in vivo or in vitro.
Reishi has a number of fairly potent anticancer actions, which are generating a lot of interest. It reduces angiogenesis, the formation of new blood cells by tumors, is antiproliferative, has direct anticancer effects on a number of cancer cell lines, including prostate, colon, leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma cells, strongly inhibits intracellular signaling and invasive behavior of cancer cells, protects the body from radiation damage during cancer treatment, and mediates cancer cell growth through enhancement of host immune defenses.
Here is a sampling of a few clinical trials: In one human trial of 355 people with hepatitis B, with a combination formula containing reishi, 92.4 percent of patients showed improvement. Another trial found that patients with hepatitis B experienced the alleviation of hepatitis symptoms and lowering of SGOT and SGPT levels. Other trials showed reduction in blood pressure in all patients with hypertension who took reishi over a 6-month period. In trials with over 2,000 patients with chronic bronchitis, 60 percent to 90 percent experienced alleviation of symptoms, marked improvement, and weight gain. Studies with people with high blood pressure have consistently showed improvement in blood pressure levels and people with impaired memory or thinking have shown increased mental clarity and memory.
Reishi has a long history of folk and historical clinical use in protecting the liver against Amanita phalloides poisoning, though I could locate no specific trials.
Family: Crassulaceae
Common Names: Rhodiola • golden root • roseroot • stonecrop • arctic root. The fresh roots smell a bit like roses, hence the origin of that name. They are golden in color, thus golden root.
Species Used: There is, as usual, confusion among those with advanced degrees in plant science as to just how many species of rhodiola there are: 36, or maybe 60, or probably 90. It’s like stamp collectors (“No, look at that tiny ink spot on the edge”); I just want to scream.
The primary medicinal that most people use is Rhodiola rosea, but many of the related species are used medicinally in the regions in which they grow. Because of the interest in R. rosea, the genus is being intensively studied for activity: I have found medicinal studies of one sort or another on R. crenulata, R. quadrifida, R. heterodonta, R. semenovii, R. sachalinensis, R. sacra, R. fastigiata, R. kirilowii, R. bupleuroides, R. imbricata, R. rhodantha, and R. integrifolia.
Actions
Adaptogen
Adrenal protectant
Anticancer
Antidepressant
Antifatigue
Antioxidant (strong)
Antistressor
Cardiotonic (potent)
Endocrine tonic
Ergogenic
Hippocampal protectant and tonic
Hypoxia antagonist (potent)
Immune tonic
Mental stimulant
Mitochondrial tonic and protectant
Muscular stimulant
Nervous system tonic
Neural protectant
Possibly a synergist, the plant is a strong inhibitor of CYP3A4 and P-glycoprotein. See the piperine monograph (page 236) for specifics.
Use to Treat
Brain fog
Chronic disease conditions with depression
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic, long-term fatigue
Low immune function
Nervous exhaustion
Recurrent infections
Rhodiola can also be used to accelerate recovery from debilitating conditions and long-term illness and infections.
Other Uses
The leaves of most species can be eaten, chopped finely and added to salads, or cooked as a pot herb. The plants are very high in vitamin C, with 33 mg per gram of fresh plant.
There have been some extravagant claims (easily found on the Internet) that only Russian Rhodiola rosea, harvested near the Arctic Circle (presumably by fasting virgins as the northern lights first emerge over the rim of Earth), contains the necessary active constituents for the herb to be useful. However, all the Rhodiola rosea plants, irrespective of where they grow or in what country, have nearly identical chemistry. They are all perfectly usable as medicine.
But please note: The exact chemical profile of the R. rosea plants themselves differs depending on time of year, time of day, and geographical location (this valley in Russia or that one) irrespective of whether they are harvested at the Arctic Circle in Russia by fasting virgins or not. In other words, you can pick R. rosea from this location in May and again in September and the chemical profile of the plant won’t be the same. The same is true of every species in the genus—and of every medicinal plant on Earth. Part of the art of herbalism is being able to determine medicinal potency of the plants you are harvesting by using the most sophisticated scientific instrument ever discovered—the focused power of human awareness. Machines just aren’t a reliable substitute for the capacity to reason and feel simultaneously. Furthermore … oops! Sorry. Got carried away again.
Studies on 14 other species in the genus have found the same constituents in them as in R. rosea. They can all be used medicinally, they all do pretty much the same things, they all work identically to the usual commercial-variety R. rosea—see Scientific Research (page 312) for more. Rhodiola integrifolia, by the way, is considered to be a natural hybrid between Rhodiola rhodantha and R. rosea; you can consider it pretty much identical to R. rosea.
Note: The rhodiolas look much like sedums and were once included in that genus, so you will see rosea sometimes listed as Sedum rosea and so on.
The root.
Generally used as capsules or tincture.
Dried root, 1:5, 50 percent alcohol. Some people use a 1:3 formulation. I am not sure it is necessary.
Tonic dose: 30–40 drops, 3x or 4x daily, usually in water.
In acute conditions: ½–1 tsp, 3x daily for 20–30 days, then back to the tonic dose.
The root is most often used in capsule form, 100 mg each. Usual dose is 1 or 2 capsules per day. In acute conditions up to 1,000 mg a day can be taken. The capsules are often standardized to contain 2–3 percent rosavins and 0.8–1 percent salidroside. They are usually taken just before meals.
Some people experience jitteriness from the herb; you should not take it at night until you know if you are one of them.
None noted.
Rhodiolas are plants that like high altitude and cold, either will do. They are a circumpolar genus of the subarctic and cool, mountainous regions of the northern hemisphere and are common in eastern Russia, parts of China, Tibet (which has many species), the mountains and northern climes of Europe, Canada, and the mountainous and colder regions of the United States. The United States, Europe, and Tibet appear to have the largest populations, with Tibet having the most species.
The rhodiolas are typical succulents with fleshy, moisture-filled, grayish-green leaves. The plants grow to about 12 inches and they will have, depending on the species, a cluster of yellow, pink, red, or orange flowers at the top of the stalk. R. rosea’s flowers are yellow.
The root system is fairly large if the plants grow in a nutrient-rich environment. The farther north they grow, and the poorer the soils, the smaller the root.
There are three species of rhodiola in North America: Rhodiola rosea grows in the mountains of North Carolina, and in Pennsylvania through New England, into Canada, and all the way to the Arctic Circle. R. rhodantha grows in the Rocky Mountain states from New Mexico and Arizona up to the Canadian border. R. integrifolia has the widest distribution in North America. It ranges from the Rocky Mountain spine (New Mexico, et cetera, westward) up into Canada and into the Arctic. There are populations as well in Minnesota and New York State. Most of the eastern rhodiolas are considered to be endangered.
If you are in the western United States and wanting to wild-harvest your own roots, look for R. integrifolia; it is just as useful as R. rosea medicinally and it is not endangered as many of the eastern United States R. rosea populations are.
Due to the popularizing of the plant as an antiaging and chronic fatigue medicinal, wild populations of R. rosea are becoming endangered; the Russians have put them on their red list of threatened plants. The largest populations of the plant were formerly in the Altai region of southern Siberia. However, over 45 companies have been harvesting the plant for export (“Real Russian rhodiola”) and those plant populations have been severely reduced.
If you live in a region in which rhodiola grows, you can harvest your own roots; you won’t need to harvest much for yourself and your family. Commercial harvesting, except for very limited amounts in abundant areas, is highly discouraged.
If you find the plant in your area, harvest the roots in the fall after seeding or in the spring just as it is coming up. The roots will be bigger and, in my opinion, more potent in the spring. Slice the bigger roots; the interior of the root will change from white to a brown or reddish color as it begins to dry.
Due to the heavy worldwide demand for the plant, there are increasing efforts to make the plant an agricultural staple in regions where it will grow; Bulgaria, Canada, and Finland are early innovators in growing the crop. The yields are low, only about 3 tons per hectare, and they are labor intensive. Since the roots are taken, and only after 5 years, agricultural growing of the plant demands a minimum of five fields, planted in rotation so they can be harvested in successive years in order to keep up continual production.
The seeds are tiny; a thousand of them weigh only 0.2 gram. The germination rates are low, 2 percent to 36 percent; they are happier with a little stratification. Thirty days at –5°C (23°F) will increase germination rates to 50 percent to 75 percent. Soak the seeds in water overnight, mix into moist soil, store for 1 month at a temperature of 2° to 4°C (36° to 39°F). You will then get about a 75 percent germination rate.
In Finland they get 95 percent to 100 percent germination if they sow the seeds on the surface of a sand/peat mix and keep the trays outside all winter under the snow. In April/May the boxes are brought into a greenhouse at a temperature of 18° to 22°C (64° to 72°F). Germination begins in 3 days to a week.
If you keep the seedlings inside for a year before transplanting, yields are significantly higher. They like sandy, loamy soil, neutral or slightly acidic. NPK: 50/50/70. They don’t need additional fertilizer after the first year. The easiest method, however, is to divide the roots of an established plant and plant the root cuttings, much like potatoes.
The plant takes a minimum of 3 years to mature, but the roots should not be harvested for 5 years. Dig in the fall, slice, let dry out of the sun. Store in plastic bags, inside plastic containers, in the dark.
Most people think that salidroside (a.k.a. rhodioloside) is the most important compound in the root, others insist it is the rosavin. Others say, yeah, those and … rosin, rosarin, and tyrosol. Studies have found, as usual, that saldroside is much more effective when combined with rosavin, rosin, and rosarin. So I’m guessing, just a wild shot here, that it’s the whole root that is most active.
There are, of course, a great many other compounds in the root, at least 85 essential oils and another 50 water-soluble nonvolatiles. Many of the usual plant compounds are present.
Rhodiola, as far as I can tell, and in spite of assertions that it is a longstanding medicinal in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), was a contribution to the medicinal plant world by the Russians due to their interest in adaptogens. This is pretty much a Russian-introduced category of medicinal herb—a plant that enhances general overall functioning, somewhat like a tonic but one that increases the ability of the organism to respond to outside stressors of whatever sort, diseases included. It enhances an organism’s general resistance to multiple adverse influences or conditions. Rhodiola, like the stronger preparations of Eleutherococcus, is considered to be not just adaptogenic but an adaptogenic stimulant—part of the reason it can cause jitteriness and wakefulness in some.
Rhodiolas have been used in TCM, Tibetan medicine, and Ayurveda for a very long time—according to many reports. But my library, extensive, doesn’t list the genus in any of my source books for those systems of healing.
However, a few other, obscure sources reveal that the plants were used in traditional Russian folk medicine to increase physical endurance, work productivity, longevity, resistance to altitude sickness and for fatigue, depression, anemia, impotence, GI tract ailments, infections, and nervous afflictions.
In central Asia the tea has been used for a long time as the most effective local treatment for colds and flu. Mongolian physicians use it for TB and cancer. The plant is a part of traditional Tibetan medicine for promoting blood circulation and relieving cough.
The plant never was a huge medicinal even though there are traces of its use as far back as the seventeenth century in the Scandinavian countries. Rhodiola rosea and R. integrifolia were used by the indigenous tribes of Alaska as a food, the root eaten for sores in the mouth, for TB, stomachache, GI tract troubles. A couple of the sedums were recognized by the Eclectics but none of the rhodiolas before their name change.
There is a lot of research on this plant right now, and more studies are occurring daily. There have been, unlike the case for many other newish medicinal plants, a lot of human clinical trials with this herb. I am primarily going to look at the neuroprotective/neuroregenerative, immune, and antistress/antifatigue actions of the plant—they are strongly interrelated. The potent antioxidant actions of the plant are deeply interrelated with those as well. A comprehensive bibliography for the plant is in the reference section.
A number of the rhodiolas have been found to have antiviral and antibacterial actions. Rhodiola kirilowii is active against the hepatitis C virus and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Rhodiola rosea is active against H1N1 and H9N2 viral influenza strains as well as Coxsackie virus B3.
Numerous rhodiola species have been found to be highly neuroprotective.
In vitro: Compounds in both Rhodiola sacra and R. sachalinensis protect neurons against beta-amyloid-induced, stauroporine-induced, and H2O2-induced death. Salidroside, a common compound in many rhodiolas, protects cultured neurons from injury from hypoxia and hypoglycemia; protects neuronal PC12 cells and SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells against cytotoxicity from beta-amyloid and against hypoglycemia and serum limitation; and protects neurons against H2O2-induced death. It does so by inducing the antioxidant enzymes thioredoxin, heme oxygenase-1, and peroxiredoxin-1, down-regulating the pro-apoptotic gene Bax, and up-regulating the anti-apoptotic genes Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L). It also restores mitochondrial membrane potential negatively affected by H2O2 and restores intracellular calcium levels.
In vivo: Rhodiola rosea enhances the level of 5-hydroxytryptamine in the hippocampus, promotes the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells in the hippocampus, and protects hippocampal neurons from injury. R. rosea protects against cognitive deficits, neuronal injury, and oxidative stress induced by intracerebroventricular injection of streptozotocin. Salidroside protects rat hippocampal neurons against H2O2-induced apoptosis. A combination of rhodiola/astragalus protects rats against simulated plateau hypoxia (8,000 m/26,000 feet). It inhibits the accumulation of lactic acid in brain tissue and serum.
Human clinical trial: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study with 40 women, ages 20 to 68, who were highly stressed, found that a Rhodiola rosea extract increased attention, speed, and accuracy during stressful cognitive tasks. Rhodiola rosea was used with 120 adults with both physical and cognitive deficiencies: exhaustion, decreased motivation, daytime sleepiness, decreased libido, sleep disturbances, concentration deficiencies, forgetfulness, decreased memory, susceptibility to stress, irritability; after 12 weeks, 80 percent of patients showed improvements. A combination formula (Xinnaoxin capsule) of Rhodiola rosea, Lycium chinense berry, and fresh Hippophae rhomnoides fruit juice was given to 30 patients with chronic cerebral circulatory insufficiency; after 4 weeks the condition was significantly improved. A double-blind, crossover 3-week study on stress-induced fatigue on the mental performance of healthy physicians during night duty found that Rhodiola rosea extract decreased mental fatigue and increased cognitive functions such as associative thinking, short-term memory, calculation and concentration, and speed of audio-visual perception.
In vitro: Salidroside stimulates glucose uptake by rat muscle cells; Rhodiola rosea extract stimulates the synthesis or resynthesis of ATP and stimulates reparative processes in mitochondria.
In vivo: Rhodiola rosea extracts increased the life span of Drosophila melanogaster, lowered mitochondrial superoxide levels, and increased protection against the superoxide generator paraquat. Four weeks’ supplementation with R. rosea extract significantly increased swimming time in exhausted mice—it significantly increased liver glycogen levels; SREBP-1, FAS, and heat shock protein 70 expression; Bcl-2/Bax ratios; and oxygen content in blood. Salidroside protected the hypothalamic/pituitary/gonad axis of male rats under intense stress—testosterone levels remained normal rather than dropping, secretary granules of the pituitary gland increased, and mitochondrial cells were strongly protected. R. rosea extract completely reversed the effects of chronic mild stress in female rats—that is, decreased sucrose intake, decreased movement, weight loss, and dysregulation of menstrual cycle. Rhodiola suppressed increased enzyme activity in rats subjected to noise stress—glutamic pyruvic transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, and creatine kinase levels all returned to normal, and glycogen, lactic acid, and cholesterol levels in the liver also returned to normal. R. rosea reduced stress and CRF-induced anorexia in rats. And so on.
Human clinical trial: Twenty-four men who had lived at high altitude for a year were tested to see the effects of rhodiola on blood oxygen saturation and sleep disorders. Rhodiola increased blood oxygen saturation significantly and increased both sleeping time and quality. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the effects of R. rosea on fatigue in students caused by stress, physical fitness, mental fatigue, and neuro-motoric indices all increased (other studies found similar outcomes). R. rosea intake in a group of healthy volunteers reduced inflammatory C-reactive protein and creatinine kinase levels in the blood and protected muscle tissue during exercise. Rhodiola rosea in a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized study was found to increase physical capacity, muscle strength, speed of limb movement, reaction time, and attention—in other words it improved exercise endurance performance. A similarly structured study found that 1 week of rhodiola supplementation decreased fatigue and stress levels but more interestingly decreased photon emissions on the dorsal side of the hand. In another study Rhodiola rosea increased the efficiency of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems and prevented fatigue during an hour of continuous physical exercise. A phase three clinical trial found that rhodiola exerts an antifatigue effect that increases mental performance and concentration and decreases cortisol response in burnout patients with fatigue syndrome; other studies have found similar outcomes, including the amelioration of depression and anxiety.
In vitro: Rhodiola imbricata protects macrophages against tert-butyl hydroperoxide injury and up-regulates the immune response. Additionally it potently stimulates the innate immune pathway and initiates strong immunostimulatory actions, increasing Toll-like receptor 4, granzyme B, and Th1 cytokines. Rhodiola sachalinensis extract enhances the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase in macrophages. Rhodiola quadrifida stimulates granulocyte activity and increases lymphocyte response to mitogens. Rhodiola algida stimulates human peripheral blood lymphocytes and up-regulates IL-2 in Th1 cells and IL-4, 6, and 10 in Th2 cells.
In vivo: Rhodiola kirolowii enhances cellular immunity—stimulating the activity of lymphocytes, increasing phagocytosis in response to microbial organisms. Rhodiola imbricata enhances specific immunoglobulin levels in response to tetanus toxoid and ovalbumin in rats—the plant has adjuvant/immunopotentiating activity in both humoral and cell-mediated immune response.
Human clinical use: Rhodiola rosea (in combination with schizandra, eleuthero, and leuzea) significantly increased both cell-mediated and humoral immune response in ovarian cancer patients. Rhodiola significantly reduced problems and infection after the treatment of acute lung injury caused by massive trauma/infection and thoracic-cardio operations. A combination formula of rhodiola, eleuthero, and schizandra significantly enhanced positive outcomes in the treatment of acute nonspecific pneumonia. Rhodiola rosea increased the parameters of leukocyte integrins and T-cell immunity in bladder cancer patients.
Rhodiola, various species, has been found effective in the treatment of breast cancer. It inhibits the tumorigenic properties of invasive mammary epithelial cells, inhibits superficial bladder cancer, suppresses T241 fibrosarcoma tumor cell proliferation, and reduces angiogenesis in various tumor lines. Rhodiola imbricata is highly protective in mice against whole-body lethal radiation.
The plant has also been found highly antioxidant in numerous studies, to be liver protective, and to be highly protective of the cardiovascular system.
The plant is adaptogenic; that is, it increases the function of the organism to meet whatever adverse influences are affecting it, whether stress or illness. Most of the attention has been paid to its ability to increase endurance and mental acuity, but its effects on the immune system, though less studied than eleuthero’s, are similar.