Herbal Rhodiola Extract Found to Increase Lifespan

Wednesday, January 30, 2008 by: Leslee Dru Browning
Tags: rhodiola, adaptogens, health news

(NewsTarget) Rhodiola rosea is now, according to recent research, becoming more widely accepted in the U.S. as a powerful anti-aging, anti-stress formula. In today's culture with stress coming from every direction, this comes as good news and a possible natural stress-relief treatment.

The herbal extract of a yellow-flowered mountain plant indigenous to the Arctic regions of Europe and Asia increased the lifespan of fruit fly populations, according to a University of California, Irvine study.

Flies that ate a diet rich with Rhodiola rosea, an herbal supplement long used for its purported stress-relief effects, lived an average of 10 percent longer than fly groups that didn't eat the herb. Study results appear in the online education news release from the University of California, Irvine

"Although this study does not present clinical evidence that Rhodiola can extend human life, the finding that it does extend the lifespan of a model organism, combined with its known health benefits in humans, make this herb a promising candidate for further anti-aging research," said Mahtab Jafari, a professor of pharmaceutical sciences and study leader. "Our results reveal that Rhodiola is worthy of continued study, and we are now investigating why this herb works to increase lifespan."

In their study, the UC Irvine researchers fed adult fruit fly populations diets supplemented at different dose levels with four herbs known for their anti-aging properties. The herbs were mixed into a yeast paste, which adult flies ate for the duration of their lives. Three of the herbs – known by their Chinese names as Lu Duo Wei, Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang and San Zhi Pian – had no effect on fruit fly longevity, while Rhodiola was found to significantly reduce mortality. On average, Rhodiola increased survival for 3.5 days in males and 3.2 days in females.

Rhodiola rosea, also known as the golden root, grows in cold climates at high altitudes and has been used by Scandinavians and Russians for centuries for its anti-stress qualities. The herb is thought to have anti-oxidative properties and has been widely studied.

Soviet researchers have been studying Rhodiola since the 1940s on athletes and cosmonauts, finding that the herb boosts the body's response to stress. And earlier this year, a Nordic Journal of Psychiatry study on people with mild-to-moderate depression showed that patients taking a Rhodiola extract called SHR-5 reported fewer symptoms of depression than did those who took a placebo.

Jafari said she is evaluating the molecular mechanism of Rhodiola by measuring its impact on energy metabolism, oxidative stress and anti-oxidant defenses in fruit flies. She is also beginning studies in mice and in mouse and human cell cultures. These latter studies should help understand the benefits of Rhodiola seen in human trials.

Past Herbal Uses of Rhodiola Rosea as a Treatment for Depression by Herbalist

Rhodiola rosea is classified as an adaptogen herb, which means it increase the body's ability to cope with internal and external stress factors, and normalize the functions of the organism. Adaptogen herbs help maintain the stable internal environment inside the organism known as homeostasis.

Russia has used Rhodiola rosea for years to enhance mental and physical performance. It has been widely used by Russian athletes and cosmonauts to increase energy. In addition, Russian medicine has also traditionally given Rhodiola rosea to its soldiers, sportsmen and aging political leaders as an effective anti-aging medicine. Rhodiola rosea helped them to improve cognitive functions and physical performance.

Rhodiola rosea also has extraordinary pharmacological properties as an anti-depressive agent. The anti-depressive and anti-stress activity of Rhodiola rosea is higher than that of St. John's Wort, Ginkgo biloba and Panax Ginseng.

In another clinical trial, 150 individuals suffering from depression took Rhodiola rosea extracts for a period of one month. At the end of that period, two-thirds of them had full remission of clinical manifestations of depression, and had become more active and more sociable. Daytime weakness and general weakness disappeared.

Rhodiola rosea has also been recommended for fatigue, catarrhal seasonal diseases, along with mental performance and to improve endurance. It increases bodily resistance to physical and mental overloads, and negative environmental effects.

Rhodiola is cardio-protective, normalizing the heart rate immediately after intense exercise. It improves the nervous system and mental functions such as memory, by increasing blood-supply to the muscles and brain, and it also increases protein synthesis.

Russian research has emphasized that Rhodiola rosea extracts have rejuvenative properties due to their ability to raise the efficiency of the intra-cell DNA repair mechanisms.

Sources:

University of California - Irvine
(http://today.uci.edu/news/release_detail.asp...)
Jeffrey Felgner, Irvin Bussel, Anthony Hutchili, Behnood Khodayari, Michael Rose and Laurence Mueller of UC Irvine participated in the study. Sun Ten Inc. provided the herbs.

RHODIOLA ROSEA (Russian Rhodiola, Golden root)
Anti-Aging Medicine of 21st Century
(http://www.anti-aging-guide.com/RhodiolaRose...)

About the author

Leslee Dru Browning is a 6th generation Medical Herbalist & Nutritionist from the ancestral line of Patty Bartlett Sessions; Pioneer Mid-Wife & Herbalist. Leslee practiced Medical Herbalism and Nutritional Healing for over 25 years and specialized in Cancer Wellness along with Chronic Illness. She now devotes her career to teaching people, through her writing, about Natural Healing from An Herbal Perspective.