6 Top Herbal Adaptogens

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Ginseng’s Latin name, Panex, comes from the same Greek root as the word “pancea,” meaning all-healing — and that’s not much of an exaggeration.
Ginseng’s Latin name, Panex, comes from the same Greek root as the word “pancea,” meaning all-healing — and that’s not much of an exaggeration.
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RhodiolaPart used: RootDose: Five to 10 drops of tincture two to three times a day, 15 to 30 minutes before eating, for 10 to 20 days; or 200 to 450 milligrams per day of extract
RhodiolaPart used: RootDose: Five to 10 drops of tincture two to three times a day, 15 to 30 minutes before eating, for 10 to 20 days; or 200 to 450 milligrams per day of extract
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Reishi Mushroom Part used: Mushroom (powdered) Dose: 1 1/2 to 9 grams of dried mushroom per day; in tincture 1 milliliter per day
Reishi Mushroom Part used: Mushroom (powdered) Dose: 1 1/2 to 9 grams of dried mushroom per day; in tincture 1 milliliter per day
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GinsengPart used: RootDose: 1 to 2 grams per day of root (equal to 20 to 30 milligrams of ginsenosides)
GinsengPart used: RootDose: 1 to 2 grams per day of root (equal to 20 to 30 milligrams of ginsenosides)
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EleutheroPart used: RootDose: 400 milligrams per day
EleutheroPart used: RootDose: 400 milligrams per day
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AshwagandhaPart used: RootDose: 1 to 6 grams per day (up to 1 1/4 teaspoons) in capsules or tea.
AshwagandhaPart used: RootDose: 1 to 6 grams per day (up to 1 1/4 teaspoons) in capsules or tea.
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SchisandraPart used: Dried berriesDose: 1 1/2 to 6 grams of dried berries per day; or 500 milligrams to 2 grams per day of extract
SchisandraPart used: Dried berriesDose: 1 1/2 to 6 grams of dried berries per day; or 500 milligrams to 2 grams per day of extract

Sixteen years ago, Patricia L. Gerbarg, a Kingston, N.Y., psychiatrist, contracted Lyme disease. But as sometimes happens, her blood tests were negative, so the condition was not diagnosed for five years. By that time, she had severe chronic fatigue, painful joints, muscle weakness, balance problems, memory loss and impaired mental function. After her diagnosis, Gerbarg took antibiotics for nine months. “They helped, but I still felt weak, low in energy and mentally fuzzy.”

Then her husband, Richard Brown, a psychopharmacologist at Columbia University, learned of a Russian herb, Rhodiola rosea, which purportedly strengthened the whole body. He thought it might help — and it did. “Within 10 days,” Gerbarg recalls, “I felt better. After three months, my energy, memory and mental function were restored.”

Rhodiola and several other herbal remedies are called “adaptogens.” The term was coined in 1947 by a Russian scientist, N.V. Lazarev, who was interested in substances that helped the body adapt to physical and emotional stress. Lazarev thought that adaptogens should:

  • Produce a nonspecific (total body) response that increases resistance against harm from physical and emotional stress (disease, anxiety, etc.)
  • Published on Apr 28, 2008
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