Eleutherococcus senticosus (Siberian Ginseng)

Eleutherococcus senticosus (formerly known as Siberian Ginseng) is a spiny-stemmed shrub grown in northeastern China, Russia (Eastern Siberia), Manchuria and Korea. The root contains many functional compounds such as lignans, phenolics, glycosides, polysaccharides, and coumarins.1 A concentrated liquid extract is prepared from cut and cleaned roots by percolation, and then spray-dried into powder.

Health Benefits

Traditionally, Eleutherococcus senticosus has been valued for its use in herbal formulas for stamina and enhancing resistance to daily stress as an “adaptogen.”1,2 Eleutherococcus may aid in improving selective memory and self-assessed well-being.3 Eleutherococcus may positively modulate immune response by increasing the number of white blood cells (e.g., T lymphocytes) in the body.4 Eleuterococcus supplementation may be useful for athletes by increasing endurance capacity and cardiovascular function, while decreasing the activity of blood clotting factors.5,6 It has been suggested in a preclinical study that Eleutherococcus may increase bone density and prevent osteoporosis.7

References

  1. Eleuthero root. American Botanical Council. Accessed in July 2015. http://cms.herbalgram.org/expandedE/Eleutheroroot.html
  2. Ginseng, Siberian. MedlinePlus. NIH. Accessed in July 2015. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/985.html
  3. Winther, K. et al. 1997. Russian root (Siberian Ginseng) improves cognitive functions in middle aged people, whereas Gingko bilobaseems effective only in the elderly. (XVI World Congress of Neurology, Buenos Aires) J Neurologic Sciences 150:S90.
  4. Bohn B, Nebe CT, Birr C. Flow-cytometric studies with eleutherococcus senticosus extract as an immunomodulatory agent. Arzneimittelforschung. 1987 Oct;37(10):1193-6. PubMed PMID: 2963645.
  5. Kuo J, Chen KW, Cheng IS, Tsai PH, Lu YJ, Lee NY. The effect of eight weeks of supplementation with Eleutherococcus senticosus on endurance capacity and metabolism in human. Chin J Physiol. 2010 Apr 30;53(2):105-11. PubMed PMID: 21793317.
  6. Azizov AP. [Effects of eleutherococcus, elton, leuzea, and leveton on the blood coagulation system during training in athletes]. Eksp Klin Farmakol. 1997 Sep-Oct;60(5):58-60. Russian. PubMed PMID: 9483409.
  7. Lim DW, Kim JG, Lee Y, Cha SH, Kim YT. Preventive effects of Eleutherococcus senticosus bark extract in OVX-induced osteoporosis in rats. Molecules. 2013 Jul 8;18(7):7998-8008. PubMed PMID: 23884131..