NEW AND IMPROVED FORMULA
AOR Rhodiola rosea used in Herbal medicine to help enhance physical capacity and performance in cases of physical stress. Can also help support healthy glucose levels as well as cognitive function, and to reduce mental fatigue in cases of mental stress.
| NPN
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Product Code
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Size
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Per Capsule
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Vegetarian
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| 80026370
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AOR04258
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60 Vegi-Caps
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200 mg
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100% Vegetarian
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| Supplement Facts
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| Serving Size: 1 Capsule
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Amount Per Serving
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| Rhodiola rosea (min. 3% rosavin, 1% salidroside)
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100 mg
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| Panax Ginseng
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100 mg
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| Non-medicinal ingredients: Capsule: hypromellose, potassium acetate, gellan gum, water.
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AOR guarantees that no ingredients not listed on the label have been added to AOR Rhodiola. Rhodiola contains no wheat, gluten, corn, nuts, dairy, soy, eggs, fish, shellfish or any animal byproduct.
Suggested Use: Take one capsule twice daily, or as directed by a qualified health care practitioner.
Rhodiola Main Applications
As reported by literature:
• Physical or psychological stress
• Immune function
Source
Russian Root.
Pregnancy / Nursing
No studies. Best to avoid.
Cautions: For occasional use only, unless directed by a health care provider. Consult a health care practitioner prior to use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have diabetes or are taking antidepressant medications, blood thinners or digoxin.
Rhodiola is authentic Russian Rhodiola rosea, an herb with a long history of use as an adaptogen and sexual tonic in the traditional medicine of Iceland, Norway, the Carpathian Mountains of the Ukraine, and above all in Siberia, for adaptation to the rigors of life on the tundras of North-central Asia. Dioscorides, the father of medical botany, provides the earliest documented medicinal use of this botanical in De Materia Medica, a phytomedicinal text which formed the basis of Western pharmaceutical and herbal writing for the next 1500 years. In more recent times, Rhodiola preparations have been listed in the national pharmacopoeias of France, Sweden, Denmark, and the former USSR, as an adaptogen and "brain tonic." In the nations of the former Soviet Union, Rhodiola is traditionally prepared in the form of a tincture called "nastojka", decocted from fresh Rhodiola roots by soaking the roots in 40% alcohol for one week.
Rigorous testing of Rhodiola's adaptogenic properties began in the former Soviet Union in the mid-60s, and has continued to this day. Four decades of animal studies and controlled clinical trials in humans clearly demonstrates that Rhodiola extract is a true adaptogenic botanical.
As a classic adaptogen, Rhodiola extracts both steel the organism against the eventuality of stressors, and prevent an overshoot into burnout when those stressors are endured. This can be seen in the botanical's simultaneous bolstering of the baseline levels of adaptive neurotransmitters and hormones typically increased in response to adaptation to the rigors of endurance training, and prevention of overactivation of those same pathways when the organism is in a stressful environment. As another example of the adaptive, balancing effect of Rhodiola, the key component salidroside has been found to prevent excessive blood sugar levels after an injection of adrenaline (which normally causes the body to pump out more glucose) and to prevent blood sugar levels from falling too low after an injection of insulin.
Rhodiola Rosea's reputation as an adaptogen includes the ability to stimulate the nervous system, decrease depression, enhance work performance, eliminate fatigue, and prevent high altitude sickness. It is also claimed to function as an antidepressant, to fight cancer, to protect the cardiovascular system and to enhance the central nervous system. Studies suggest that it can help prevent symptoms associated with intense physical or mental strain such as a decline in work performance, sleep difficulties, poor appetite, irritability, hypertension, headaches and fatigue.
Soviet scientists discovered a generation ago that Rhodiola allows experimental animals to use their body's glycogen energy reserves more sparingly under forced exercise, and to replenish those reserves (and reserves of the crucial high-energy compound creatine phosphate) more quickly afterwards. These properties doubtless contribute to Rhodiola's ability to extend animals' endurance during forced swimming or clinging to a rod to avoid falling. To make sure that Rhodiola's effects on physical performance was an adaptogenic effect, and not caused by flooding the body with steroids, scientists looked for the kind of hyper-masculinization you see in steroid freaks at the gym: no such signs were found.
Accordingly, Rhodiola extracts improve the organism's capacity to stand up against a wide variety of stressors, including heat shock, heavy metal exposure, free radical assault, high latitude, liver-damaging chemicals, and exhaustive exercise. When eggs from freshwater snails were incubated with Rhodiola rosea, they had a survival rate of 90% when exposed to heat shock, compared to only 9% for eggs that were not exposed to Rhodiola. Rhodiola also increased resistance to oxidative stress and heavy metal exposure.
Another example is Rhodiola's ability to protect the heart from stress. When lab animals are subjected to extreme cold or to massive doses of the stress hormone adrenaline, the regular, controlled beating of their hearts is disrupted and the oxygen supply is temporarily cut off. But Rhodiola supplements prevent arrhythmia, reduce the damage to the muscle cells of the heart, and balance the overflow of stress neurotransmitters normally associated with these stressors.
In rats, Rhodiola Rosea has been found to benefit learning and memory, as well as responses to stress. Furthermore, rat studies found that Rhodiola rosea could block the growth of tumors, decrease metastasis, and extend survival times. It also enhanced the effects of the antitumor drug cyclophosphamide.
Clinical Trials
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study observed the effects of Rhodiola rosea intake on the physical performance of 24 healthy students. After taking a dose of either Rhodiola rosea or placebo, students waited an hour and then performed various physical tests. It was found that the test group had an increased time to exhaustion, as well as increased breathing compared to the control group. The study therefore concluded that Rhodiola rosea can improve the endurance exercise capacity in healthy young adults. While most stimulants of the central nervous system such as caffeine and amphetamines create a temporary effect that is lessened with repeated intakes, Rhodioa rosea was found to maintain its effects despite repeated intakes.
In another study, a Rhodiola rosea extract along with a combination of vitamins and minerals was given to 120 adults with physical and cognitive deficiencies in a 12 week drug monitoring study. There was a significant improvement in these deficiencies, with observed improvements in symptoms such as exhaustion, decreased motivation, daytime sleepiness, sleep disturbances, concentration deficiencies, forgetfulness, susceptibility to stress and irritability. This is likely due to Rhodiola's ability to influence the levels of several neurotransmitters in the brain.
It's How You Feel
People who have tried this botanical report that they feel better on Rhodiola. The effect is described in terms of a continuous sensation of physical and mental relief from stress, and anecdotally appears to be most pronounced in people who typically respond to stress with anger or sensations of helplessness.
Animal studies have given us some clues to the neurochemical basis of these effects: Rhodiola has well-documented effects on the metabolism of a variety of neurotransmitters. For instance, Rhodiola enhances the transport of the serotonin precursors tryptophan and 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) across the blood-brain barrier, and decreases the action of the serotonin-degrading catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) enzyme. It also boosts brain levels of dopamine, acetylcholine, and norepinephrine, all of which are key neurotransmitters targeted by major classes of antidepressant drugs. Rhodiola also appears to influence the synthesis, levels, and/or activity of endorphins and enkephalins, since blocking the receptors for some of these "feel-good" peptides negates some of Rhodiola's effects.
The Importance of Full Standardization
Earlier research identified salidroside (and its free form, p-tyrosol) as a key active ingredient in Rhodiola, and many clinical trials still use salidroside as the sole active for standardization of their Rhodiola botanicals. More recently, studies have focused on the effects of rosavin. Some Rhodiola species found in China and elsewhere contain salidroside but not rosavin, the most characteristic active ingredient of true Rhodiola rosea. On the other hand, many products fail to standardize for the salidroside content, despite the extensive documentation of its adaptogenic effects. A properly-standardized Rhodiola extract will contain at least 3% rosavins and 1% salidroside; p-tyrosol will also be present in small amounts.