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16-September-2008 16:15:15 - Adaptogen The term adaptogen is used by herbalists to refer to a natural herb product that is proposed to increase the body's resistance to stress, trauma, anxiety and fatigue. In the past, they have been called rejuvenating herbs, qi tonics, rasayanas, or restoratives. All adaptogens contain antioxidants, but antioxidants are not necessarily adaptogens and that is not proposed to be their primary mode of action.1 The concept of adaptogens dates back thousands of years to ancient India and China, but modern study did not begin until the late 1940s. In 1947, Nikolai Lazarev defined an adaptogen as an agent that allows the body to counter adverse physical, chemical, or biological stressors by raising nonspecific resistance toward such stress, thus allowing the organism to adapt to the stressful circumstances.1 In 1968, Israel I. Brekhman , PhD, and I. V. Dardymov formally gave adaptogens a functional definition, as follows: An adaptogen is nontoxic to the recipient. An adaptogen produces a nonspecific response in the body-an increase in the power of resistance against multiple stressors including physical, chemical, or biological agents. An adaptogen has a normalizing influence on physiology, irrespective of the direction of change from physiological norms caused by the stressor. Under this definition, adaptogens would be nontoxic in normal doses, produce a general defensive response against stress, and have a normalizing influence on the body.1 It is claimed that adaptogenic herbs are unique from other substances in their ability to balance endocrine hormones and the immune system, and they help the body to maintain optimal homeostasis.1 Adaptogens are proposed to have a normalizing effect on the body and to be capable of either toning down the activity of hyperfunctioning systems or strengthening the activity of hypofunctioning systems. However, they are also proposed to be functional at the level of allostasis, which is a more dynamic reaction to long term stress, lacking the fixed reference points of homeostasis.2 Contents 1 Adaptogenic herbs and other organisms 2 Constituents common to adaptogens 3 Notes 4 Further reading Adaptogenic herbs and other organisms Most herbal adaptogens that have been identified have long been used in either Ayurveda or Traditional Chinese Medicine TCM. Some of the more commonly used herbs described as adaptogens include:1345 Scientific name Common name Research papers on PubMed through 20076 Codonopsis pilosula Dang shen 49 Eleutherococcus senticosus Eleuthero 71 Glycyrrhiza glabra Licorice 11567 Gynostemma pentaphyllum Jiaogulan 89 Lepidium meyenii Maca 169 Ocimum sanctum Holy basil 146 Panax ginseng Ginseng 97+8 Rhodiola rosea Rhodiola 151 Schisandra chinensis Schisandra 153 Tinospora cordifolia Guduchi 93 Withania somnifera Ashwagandha 235 Cordyceps sinensis Cordyceps 369 Ganoderma lucidum Reishi mushroom 389 Inonotus obliquus Chaga mushroom 35 Possible adaptogens with less scientific research include: Scientific name Common name Research papers on PubMed through 2007 Ashphaltum bitumen Shilajit, some kind of organic humus 09 Asparagus racemosus Shatavari 4410 Astragalus membranaceus Astragalus 49311 Bacopa monnieri Water Hyssop 3012 Emblica officinalis Amla 21813 Lycium chinensis Lycium 014 Pfaffia paniculata Suma 1215 Polygonum multiflorum He Shou Wu 6616 Pseudostellaria heterophylla Prince Seng 1717 Rhaponticum carthamoides Maral root 2418 Panax ginseng is an example of an adaptogen that has demonstrated an overall normalizing effect. Among the active ingredients found in Panax Ginseng are substances called ginsenosides. The herb contains ginsenosides Rg1, which can stimulate the nervous system, and ginsenosides Rb1, which calms it.1 However ginsenosides alone do not determine the active strength of ginseng and some preparations with higher ginsenosides have lower activity, indicating that cofactors are necessary to potentiate the adaptogenic properties of ginseng. Constituents common to adaptogens It can be difficult to determine which constituents are active ingredients in plants with as diffuse an effect as adaptogens. According to adaptogen researcher Panossian and medical botanist and herbalist Robyn Klein, adaptogens tend to have the following consitituents:1920 Triterpenes mevalonate pathway Triterpenoid saponins: dammarane triterpene saponins, cucurbitacins Phytosterols: beta-sitosterol Phytoecdysteroids: 20-ecdysone, turkesterone Phenylpropanes shikimate pathway Flavonoids: glucopyranosides, prenylated flavonoids, flavan glycosides Lignans: schizandrin, sesamin, syringaresinol Oxylipins acetate pathway Hydroxylated fatty acids: octadecadienoic acid Triterpenoid saponins have been the focus of most studies of adaptogen constituents. Saponins include ginsenoside from Panax ginseng, gypenosides from Gynostemma and eleutherosides from Eleutherococcus. The lipophilic properties of ginsenosides, for instance, favor binding to intracellular steroid hormone receptors. Triterpenes also include phytosterols and phytoecdysteroids, both of which are thought to have adaptogenic roles in mammals. Phytosterols have been studied more in food science than phytotherapy but are known to have immune function.21 Phytoecdysteroids are in common use by athletes and weight lifters for the anabolic effects they produce. Rhaponticum carthamoides is notable for these compounds. Oxylipins are fatty acids that have been oxidized and display prostaglandin-like activity due to a shape similar to leukotrienes. Examples are the hydroxylated fatty acids in licorice, Glycyrrhiza glabra.2223 In addition to the above constituents, many adaptogens contain polysaccharides that have been reported to stimulate immune system components and have immune system enhancing benefits. Polysaccharide-rich plants have a long history of use in traditional practices such as Chinese medicine. In addition to stimulating the immune system, they are used to increase vital energy and considered qi tonics. Adaptogens that contain polysaccharides include: American ginseng, Asian ginseng, astragalus, cordyceps, eleuthero, licorice, lycium, prince seng, reishi, rhaponticum, and shatavari.1 Notes March 2008 ^ a b c d e f g Winston, David Maimes, Steven. Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief, Healing Arts Press, 2007. ^ 1Robyn Klein.Allostasis Theory and Adaptogenic Plant Remedies 2004 ^ Saleeby, J. P. Wonder Herbs: A Guide to Three Adaptogens, Xlibris, 2006. Three chapters on adaptogens Rhodiola rosea, Eleuthero Jiaogulan. ^ Hobbs, Christopher Medicinal mushrooms: The history, chemistry, pharmacology and folk uses for modern times Botanica Press, 1987. ^ April 2005 MMS Newsletter ^ PubMed Home. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved on 2008-03-06. ^ Search term licorice instead of scientific name. The search term also brought up some other similar species. ^ It seems there may be more papers under a synonym for the plant. ^ 0 PubMed results listed under the name Ashphaltum bitumen + 0 under Shilajit ^ 44 PubMed results found under the name Asparagus racemosus + 0 results under synonym Asparagus rigidulus + 0 results under synonym Protasparagus racemosus ^ 342 PubMed results under the name Astragalus membranaceus + 151 under the synonym Radix astragali = 493. This is assuming both terms do not appear in the same paper ^ 30 PubMed results listed under the name Bacopa monnieri ^ 96 results for PubMed search under the name Phyllanthus emblica + 122 results under the name Emblica officinalis = 218. This is assuming bother terms do not appear in the same paper ^ 0 PubMed results found ^ 12 results under the name Pfaffia paniculata ^ 66 PubMed results under the name Polygonum multiflorum ^ 17 PubMed results under the name Pseudostellaria heterophylla ^ 17 PubMed results under the name Rhaponticum carthamoides ^ Panossian, Alexander G., 2003. Adaptogens: a historical overview and perspective. Natural Pharmacy, 74, 1, 19- 20. ^ 2Robyn Klein Masters Thesis Paper, May 2004, Montana State University, Dept Plant Sciences Plant Pathology: Phylogenetic and phytochemical characteristics of plant species with adaptogenic properties ^ Bouic, Patrick J.D., 2002. Sterols and sterolins: new drugs for the immune system? Drug Discovery Today, 714, 775-778 ^ Panossian, Alexander G., 2003. Adaptogens: a historical overview and perspective. Natural Pharmacy, 74, 1, 19- 20. ^ 3Robyn Klein Masters Thesis Paper, May 2004, Montana State University, Dept Plant Sciences Plant Pathology: Phylogenetic and phytochemical characteristics of plant species with adaptogenic properties Further reading Adaptogens.org David Winston Steven Maimes. Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief, Healing Arts Press, 2007. The definitive guide to adaptogenic herbs. Includes overview, history, actions, health benefits, 21 monographs; and chapters on adaptogens as food and adaptogens for animals. Adaptogens in America Retrieved from http://en..org/wiki/Adaptogen Categories: HerbalismHidden category: Articles needing additional references from March 2008 Views Article Discussion this page History Personal tools Log in / create account Navigation Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Search Go Search Interaction Community portal Recent changes Contact Donate to Help Toolbox What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Printable version Permanent link Cite this page Languages Català Česky Deutsch Español Français Polski Suomi Svenska This page was last modified on 25 July 2008, at 13:4
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