Rhodiola Rosea Research Analysis

Frank, Kurtis; Patel, Kamal; Lopez, Gregory; Willis, Bill

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Rhodiola Rosea

Rhodiola rosea is an herb that's popular for its "adaptogenic" properties (reducing fatigue and exhaustion in prolonged stressful situations). Preliminary evidence has also looked at neuroprotection, among other possible benefits.

Research analysis led by Kamal Patel and reviewed by the Examine team.
Last Updated: May 10, 2021

Summary of Rhodiola Rosea

Primary information, health benefits, side effects, usage, and other important details

What is Rhodiola Rosea?

Rhodiola rosea is a herb in the rhodiola genera (Crassulaceae family) which has traditional usage as an anti-fatigue agent and adaptogen compound. Its main chemicals that are thought to be responsible for its effects are rosavin and salidroside.

What are Rhodiola Rosea's benefits?

Rhodiola appears to be able to significantly reduce the fatigue and 'burnout' that come from stress and anxiety; numerous trials suggest meaningful effects, particularly in people with stress and anxiety issues. This may extend to exercise, since there's some evidence that acute supplementation before exercise can reduce fatigue, but more research is needed before we can be confident in that. Furthermore, it seems to have an effect on reducing stress and anxiety themselves, and may improve mood generally. Whether or not this is secondary to a reduction in fatigue is hard to say. As can be expected from a reduction in fatigue, research suggests that it can improve various measures of cognitive function, assuming that fatigue is reduced.

Other potential uses of rhodiola include preliminary evidence that it is highly neuroprotective against toxins (requires more evidence) and that ingestion of rhodiola or its active component can reduce stress-induced binge eating in female rats. In the brain, Rhodiola appears to be highly serotonergic (increases serotonin) and reduces corticosteroids; the inhibition of monoamine oxidases (MAOs) commonly attributed to rhodiola may not be relevant following oral ingestion of rhodiola, however. Rhodiola may also promote longevity, with preliminary (non-mammalian) evidence suggesting up to a 20% increase in lifespan secondary to mechanisms that are indepedent of caloric restriction. Although very promising, mammalian evidence is needed to confirm.

What are Rhodiola's side effects and drawbacks?

It's likely to be safe in the short to mid term (months to a year) when taken in normal doses. As with pharmacologically potent herbs in general, it may have notable drug interactions.

One study has found that some commercial Rhodiola products may be diluted or otherwise adulterated.

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How to Take

Recommended dosage, active amounts, other details

Supplementation of rhodiola rosea tends to refer to either the SHR-5 extract in particular or an equivalent extract, any that confers both 3% rosavins and 1% salidroside.

Usage of rhodiola as a daily preventative against fatigue has been reported to be effective in doses as low as 50mg.

Acute usage of rhodiola for fatigue and anti-stress has been noted to be taken in the 288-680mg range.

As rhodiola has been shown to have a bell-curve response before, it is recommended to not exceed the aforementioned 680mg dosage as higher doses may be ineffective.

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Human Effect Matrix

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The Human Effect Matrix summarizes human studies to tell you what effects Rhodiola Rosea has on your body, how much evidence there is, and how strong these effects are.
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Grade	Level of Evidence [show legend]
	Robust research conducted with repeated double-blind clinical trials
	Multiple studies where at least two are double-blind and placebo controlled
	Single double-blind study or multiple cohort studies
	Uncontrolled or observational studies only

Outcome	Magnitude of effect ? The direction and size of the supplement's impact on each outcome. Some supplements can have an increasing effect, others have a decreasing effect, and others have no effect.	Consistency of research results ? Scientific research does not always agree. HIGH or VERY HIGH means that most of the scientific research agrees.	Notes
Fatigue	Notable	Very High See all 14 studies	The decrease in fatigue appears to be fairly strong and quite reliable when a low dose is given over a prolonged period of time or a high dose is given acutely; there are studies that have found an increase in fatigue, and one that found that it depended on the method of measuring fatigue, so it's possible that results, while generally positive, will be variable.
Cognition	Notable	Very High See all 4 studies	Notably effective assuming fatigue is being reduced. There is insufficient evidence to evaluate rhodiola's effects on cognition without the fatigue reduction aspect
Subjective Well-Being	Minor	Very High See all 7 studies	The trend seems to suggest that it can improve subjective well-being secondary to a reduction in fatigue. One study found a reduction in self-ratings of subjective well-being, and potentially an increase in fatigue.
Attention	Minor	- See all 4 studies	Research mostly points to a small effect, though evidence isn't particularly reliable or robust.
Blood Lactate (Excercise)	Minor	Very High See all 3 studies	Mixed evidence. The study that found a reduction found it during submaximal exercise.
C-Reactive Protein (CRP)	Minor	Very High See 2 studies	A decrease in C-reactive protein has been noted with rhodiola supplementation; practical significance of these results unknown
Depression	Minor	Very High See all 7 studies	Evidence is fairly mixed, but generally supports a reduction, but more studies in major depression are specifically needed to judge its efficacy.
Muscle Damage	Minor	Very High See all 3 studies	Able to reduce circulating levels of creatine kinase following exercise
Processing Accuracy	Minor	- See study	Increases in processing accuracy are likely secondary to reductions in fatigue
Rating of perceived exertion (RPE)	Minor	- See all 3 studies	Limited evidence suggests a reduction from aerobic exercise when taken acutely or chronically
Stress	Minor	- See all 6 studies	A small reduction in subjective ratings seems to be fairly consistent, though the evidence isn't particularly robust.
Blood Pressure	-	- See study	No significant effects yet noted on blood pressure
Heart Rate	-	Very High See all 4 studies	No significant influences on heart rate found so far
Lipid Peroxidation	-	Very High See all 3 studies	No significant influences on lipid peroxidation biomarkers in serum
Muscle Oxygenation	-	- See study	No significant effects on oxygenation during exercise or simulated altitude tests
Power Output	-	Very High See 2 studies	Mixed evidence. There was an improvement in max power on a cycle ergometer test in one study.
Reaction Time	-	Very High See all 3 studies	No significant influences on reaction time
VO₂ Max	-	- See study	May slightly improve oxygen consumption during submaximal exercise in untrained persons, but overall the improvement in VO2 max does not appear to be highly potent or reliable.
Weight	-	- See study	Unable to modify weight over time
Aerobic Exercise	Minor	Very High See 2 studies	Very preliminary evidence suggests a slight improvement in time to completion and time to exhaustion on cycle ergometer tests.
Alertness	Minor	- See study	An increase in healthy participants has been noted in one study.
Anti-Oxidant Enzyme Profile	Minor	- See study	One study found an increase in superoxide dismutase in healthy participants. Its effect on other antioxidant enzymes is unclear.
Anxiety	Minor	Very High See 2 studies	Reductions have been noted in studies on people suffering from stress-induced burnout and those with mild anxiety.
Cortisol	Minor	- See all 3 studies	Salivary cortisol in the morning in one study and post-exercise (but not at baseline or over 24 hours) was reduced in another study, while a third didn't find an effect.
Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor	Minor	- See study	One study found that it was higher than placebo directly after a marathon, but not notably different before or 1.5 hours after the marathon.
Growth Hormone	Minor	- See study	One study found a small reduction directly after exercise, but not before or over the course of 24 hours.
Interleukin 8	Minor	- See study	One study noted a reduction during a marathon.
Libido	Minor	- See study	A small improvement in people suffering from burnout was noted in one study.
Lymphocyte Count	Minor	- See study	One study on marathon runners found less of a reduction during a marathon than placebo.
Pain	Minor	- See study	General daily pain was reduced in one study on people experiencing normal but notable stress.
Sexual Function	Minor	- See study	Overall subjective ratings improved somewhat in one uncontrolled study of people experiencing burnout.
Sleep Quality	Minor	- See study	There was a small improvement in people with mild anxiety.
Symptoms of Sleep Deprivation	Minor	- See study	There was an improvement in one study of people with mild anxiety, though it's not clear if this can be distinguished from general effects on fatigue.
Total antioxidant capacity (TAC)	Minor	- See study	Increases in total antioxidant capacity of blood have been noted in one study.
Vigor/Activity	Minor	- See 2 studies	An improvement was found in people with mild anxiety, but not healthy, recreationally active people.
Carbohydrate Oxidation	-	- See study	No apparent effect during exercise in one study.
Creatine Kinase	-	Low See all 3 studies	Mixed evidence with no apparent resolution.
Fat Oxidation	-	- See study	No apparent effect during exercise in one study.
Insomnia		- See study	One study noted a reduction in insomnia symptoms for people with mild to moderate depression, but didn't supply data.
Interleukin 10	-	- See study	No apparent effect in one study.
Interleukin 6	-	- See 2 studies	Mixed evidence, the reason not being apparent. An increase and decrease have been noted.
Liver Enzymes	-	- See study	No apparent effect on AST or ALT in one study of marathon runners.
Metabolic Rate	-	- See study	No apparent effect in one study.
Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1	-	- See study	No apparent effect in one study.
Monocyte Count	-	- See study	No apparent effect in one study, before or after a marathon.
Muscle Soreness	-	- See study	No apparent effect after a marathon in one study.
Neutrophil Count	-	- See study	No apparent effect after a marathon in one study.
Social Functioning	-	- See all 3 studies	Mixed evidence but there was a nonsignificant decrease in people with normal stress, and improvements in people with burnout and chronic fatigue symptoms, but the latter studies weren't controlled.
TNF-Alpha	-	- See study	No apparent effect in one study.
Testosterone	-	- See study	No apparent effect in one study.

Studies Excluded from Consideration

Confounded with inclusion of other nutrients^[1]^[2]^[3]^[1]^[4]PMID: 0^[3]
Being language barrier^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11] -Not available online.^[12]^[13]

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Things to Note

Is a Form Of

Primary Function:

Mood

Other Functions:

Also Known As

Rosavin, Rosenroot, Rhodiola Rhizome, Golden Root, Arctic Root, Rhidola

Do Not Confuse With

Other species of Rhodiola, Rosa damascena, Rosmarinic Acid, Roselle, Scutellaria baicalensis (also called Goldenroot)

Goes Well With

Eleutherococcus senticosus and Schisandra chinensis (as the blend known as ADAPT-232)
Cranberry water extract (α-amylase and α-glucoside inhibition)
Hypericum perforatum (binge eating)

Caution Notice

Rhodiola rosea may interact with enzymes of drug metabolism

Rhodiola rosea is slightly stimulatory, although not classically stimulatory like caffeine
Rhodiola rosea is known to inhibit the CYP3A4 enzyme in vitro at concentrations which likely occur to oral ingestion
One study has found that some commercial Rhodiola rosea supplements bought in the UK may be adulterated through dilution or additives

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Quick Navigation

Rhodiola Rosea

Rhodiola rosea is an herb that's popular for its "adaptogenic" properties (reducing fatigue and exhaustion in prolonged stressful situations). Preliminary evidence has also looked at neuroprotection, among other possible benefits.

Summary of Rhodiola Rosea

Primary information, health benefits, side effects, usage, and other important details

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Guidance from the experts

How to Take

Recommended dosage, active amounts, other details

Easily stay on top of the latest nutrition research

Human Effect Matrix

Easily stay on top of the latest nutrition research

Studies Excluded from Consideration

Stay on top of the latest research

Things to Note

Is a Form Of

Primary Function:

Other Functions:

Also Known As

Do Not Confuse With

Goes Well With

Caution Notice

An evidence-based supplement course

Research Breakdown on Rhodiola Rosea

1.1Sources

1.2Composition

1.3Properties

1.4SHR-5 and ADAPT-232

2.1Intestines and Absorption

2.2Serum

2.3Metabolism

2.4Enzymatic Interactions

3.1Mechanisms

4.1Mechanisms

4.2Nerve Injury and Neurogenesis

4.3Memory and Cognition

4.4Neuroprotection

4.5Serotonin

4.6Fatigue and Stress

4.7Appetite

4.8Depression

4.9Anxiety

4.10Pain

5.1Cardiac Tissue

5.2Blood Cells

5.3Blood Pressure

6.1Absorption

6.2Mechanisms

6.3Interventions

7.1Aging

8.1Mechanisms

8.2Blood Oxygenation

8.3Physical Fatigue and Performance

9.1Mechanisms

10.1Mechanisms

11.1Mechanisms

12.1Estrogen

13.1Liver

14.1Bladder

14.2Breast

14.3Stomach

15.1Nicotine

15.2Weikang Keli

15.3Hypericum perforatum

16.1General

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