Eleuthero, sometimes also called Siberian ginseng, is a distant relative of Asian ginseng. Though it belongs to a different plant species, Eleuthero displays many properties common with true ginseng.
Records of Chinese medicine describe the usage of Eleuthero for at least two thousand years for the purposes of increasing energy, longevity and vitality, improving general health, restoring weak memory, relieving stiffness and tension in the soft tissues and joints, as well as increasing resistance to respiratory infections.
Today Eleuthero is one of the most well researched adaptogens. Numerous experimental and clinical studies confirm its adaptogenic properties including ability to increase non-specific body resistance to stress, fatigue, disease, and harmful chemicals.
Clinical data supports the use of Eleuthero as a restorative tonic for enhancing mental and physical performance in cases of exhaustion and tiredness, weakness, and during recovery following an attack of disease, a surgical intervention or an injury.
A review of clinical trials involving over 2,100 healthy individuals found that Eleuthero root extract improved resistance to adverse physical conditions such as heat, noise, increased work load, and exercise. Eleuthero root also increased mental alertness and work output as well as improved both the quality of work performed under stressful conditions and athletic performance.
Eleuthero has been shown to normalize adrenal and thyroid function – the two critical self regulation mechanisms in our body. It also balanced blood pressure and blood sugar levels in both animal and experimental studies.
While analyzing Eleuthero composition researchers have identified six compounds with antioxidant properties, four compounds exhibiting anticancer actions and two compounds producing immune-enhancing effects.
Adding an Eleuthero preparation to blood samples from healthy donors resulted in 30-45% increase in phagocytosis – our body’s protective reaction involving capturing of waste material, harmful microorganisms and other foreign inclusions by white blood cells.
Another study demonstrated that a liquid Eleuthero root extract exhibits strong antiviral activity. It inhibited the reproduction of human rhinovirus (one of the major causes of the common cold), human respiratory syncytial virus (cause of respiratory illness), and influenza A (flu) virus in infected cell cultures.
Eleuthero has even been shown to improve short-term memory and overall mental performance in healthy individuals. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study done on middle-aged people found that Eleuthero significantly improved their selective memory, feelings of well-being, and activity levels.
Eleuthero’s anti-fatigue effect as well as its beneficial influence on endurance and the capacity to work (both mentally and physically) might be explained by its ability to increase the capability of the body’s cells to utilize phosphorus-containing energy molecules and to dispose of various byproducts of metabolism.
Furthermore, Eleuthero root extract has been shown to increase the resistance of rats to the toxic effects of harmful chemicals.
Eleuthero is included in some of Isagenix wellness solutions as one of the components of the Isagenix’s restorative and rejuvenating tonic Ionix Supreme together with other potent adaptogens, such as Shilajit.