Chapter 34 - Adaptogens With a Special Emphasis on Withania somnifera and Rhodiola rosea

Abstract

Adaptogens are a special class of plants which help balance, restore, and protect the body from the effects of stress. They are amphoteric in nature—meaning they work like a thermostat. One of the most important views of adaptogens which has recently been discovered is their ability to quiet a stress-activated enzyme known asstress-activated c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase 1. An adaptogen helps mediate this stress response. Adaptogens helps to simultaneously calm and energize. Their unique abilities help counteract stress and improve mood, mental clarity, and physical stamina. Ashwagandha and rhodiola are adaptogenic herbs that positively affect the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis access, thereby increasing the body's resilience to stressors. Rhodiola acts as a buffer to stress-related mental and physical fatigue. Rhodiola was used by athletes and military personnel to increase resilience to stress and to combat fatigue. Now adaptogens have various uses, but the important limitation in the assessment of herbal studies in general is variability in the composition and activity of bioactive constituents due to genetic and environmental factors. This may be due to feedback regulation of signaling systems and/or differences in threshold concentration for binding of extract constituents to receptors.