Adaptogens

Soviet research and the coining of the term

The term adaptogen is attributed to the Soviet toxicologist Nikolai Lazarev. Todorova and colleagues (2021) state that he introduced it in 1947 for substances that cause nonspecific resistance in living organisms. Panossian and Wikman (2010) instead place the concept in the 1950s and 1960s and cite Lazarev papers from 1958 and 1959 on a state of nonspecific resistance, building on Hans Selye's model of stress with alarm, resistance and exhaustion phases. The two reviews therefore differ on the date.

Panossian and Wikman report that Soviet interest in the berries of Schisandra chinensis began in military journals during the Second World War, following earlier ethnographic reports of Nanai hunters using them as a tonic. From the early 1960s, they write, adaptogen research became a field of its own in the USSR, with 1009 studies, mostly on extracts of Eleutherococcus senticosus (eleuthero, also called Siberian ginseng), published in Russia up to 1982.

The Brekhman and Dardymov definition

According to Panossian and Wikman, Brekhman and Dardymov proposed at the end of the 1960s that adaptogens are innocuous agents that nonspecifically increase resistance to physical, chemical, biological and psychological stressors, with a normalizing effect independent of the nature of the pathologic state. Their review appeared in the Annual Review of Pharmacology, which Todorova and colleagues date to 1969 and Panossian and Wikman cite as 1968, so the exact year should be checked against the original. Panossian and Wikman add that in 1969 a USSR pharmacological committee recommended Rhodiola rosea extract for conditions such as asthenia and neuroses.

Sport and later spread

Todorova and colleagues report that plant adaptogens were first used in professional sports about 50 years before their review, and that extracts of Panax ginseng, eleuthero, Rhaponticum carthamoides, Rhodiola rosea and Schisandra chinensis are the plants most often described as natural adaptogens. They also describe synthetic compounds, such as bemethyl from the 1970s, that Soviet-era literature grouped under the same word. The sources reviewed give no firm date for the first use of the word in Western wellness markets.

The usual three criteria

Accounts of the Soviet definition are usually condensed into three conditions: the herb is non-toxic or innocuous at normal amounts, it acts nonspecifically on resistance to many kinds of stressor, and it has a normalizing effect whatever the state of the body. UCLA Health restates this for the public as nontoxic, supporting the body's ability to cope with stress, and helping the body return to a stable state. A skeptical commentary from McGill University describes the same three rules and notes that they come from Soviet scientists of the mid-twentieth century.

Definitions in the research literature

Panossian and Wikman (2009) proposed that, on the basis of clinical studies, adaptogens could be defined as a pharmacological group of herbal preparations that increase tolerance to mental exhaustion and enhance attention and mental endurance when performance is reduced. In later work Panossian (2017) describes adaptogens as stress-response modifiers that increase nonspecific resistance to stress, and argues that a network pharmacology approach suits them better than a one-target model. Their proposed mechanisms involve the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and stress-activated proteins such as Hsp70. These authors list affiliations with herbal product research firms.

Disputed boundaries and European assessment

Panossian and Wikman themselves note that the term is often applied to plants that do not meet the criteria. The McGill commentary argues that many so-called adaptogens also show immune-modulating or cognitive effects, so the category blurs into others, and that the plants are chemical mixtures. No source reviewed gives a single accepted pharmacological definition. The European Medicines Agency committee on herbal products, in its 2024 assessment of Rhodiola rosea, states that traditional use as an adaptogen for relief of stress symptoms such as fatigue and exhaustion is appropriate for traditional herbal medicinal products, while finding the clinical trials too deficient for well-established use. That report concerns one herb and the sources reviewed do not state a position on adaptogens as a category.

Herbs on the modern list

Lists differ by author. Todorova and colleagues name Panax ginseng, eleuthero, Rhaponticum carthamoides, Rhodiola rosea and Schisandra chinensis. UCLA Health lists ashwagandha, ginseng, reishi mushroom, Rhodiola, Schisandra and tulsi (holy basil). The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) says Asian ginseng has been used in traditional Chinese medicine as a calming agent and as an adaptogen, and a review in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology says Ayurveda uses ashwagandha root as a general health tonic and adaptogen. The Machipedia pages Ashwagandha and Ginseng cover those herbs, Ayurvedic Herbal Medicine covers the Indian system, and Medicinal Mushrooms covers reishi. The broader context is on the Herbal Medicine and Plant Medicine pages.

The Rasayana Therapy page covers an Ayurvedic category of rejuvenating practices. The sources reviewed here do not equate rasayana with the Soviet adaptogen concept, and that comparison should not be inferred.

Use in wellness products

UCLA Health describes adaptogens as taken in capsules, as teas, or as powders added to soups, smoothies and other foods. NCCIH notes that many oral herbal products, including ashwagandha, are sold as dietary supplements, which are not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration before sale; the Dietary Supplements page covers that category. The McGill commentary describes product labels and social media as attaching wide-ranging claims to adaptogens. The sources reviewed do not describe specific beverage products, so named drinks are not covered here.

Stress, fatigue and performance

Todorova and colleagues write that plant adaptogens have been used in recovery from illness, physical weakness and memory impairment, and in sport for physical endurance. NCCIH states that Rhodiola was traditionally used for work performance, endurance, fatigue, depression and altitude sickness and is promoted today for athletic performance, mood, cognition, energy and stress reduction. The European committee's traditional-use wording for Rhodiola is relief of stress symptoms such as fatigue and exhaustion.

Broader claims

Panossian (2017) states that current and potential uses of adaptogens relate mainly to stress-induced fatigue and cognitive function, mental illness and behavioral disorders, and that preventive use by healthy people appears justified; this is the author's position. NCCIH reports that ashwagandha supplements are promoted for stress, anxiety, sleep, male infertility and athletic performance. The McGill commentary lists memory, sex drive, blood sugar and cancer among claims it attributes to labels and influencers. None of these claims is endorsed by this page.

What trials of individual herbs show

Hung and colleagues (2011) found 11 placebo-controlled randomized trials of Rhodiola rosea, six on physical performance, four on mental performance and two in people with mental health conditions, and judged that it may have beneficial effects but that independent replications were lacking. Ishaque and colleagues (2012) found 11 studies of Rhodiola for fatigue; two of six physical fatigue trials and three of five mental fatigue trials reported benefit, all had high or unclear risk of bias, and the authors called the evidence contradictory. NCCIH concludes there is not enough reliable evidence to say whether Rhodiola is useful for any health-related purpose.

For ashwagandha, Della Porta and colleagues (2023) reviewed nine studies of cortisol in stressed adults, found lower cortisol with short-term use, and noted that none assessed long-term effects. NCCIH says some preparations may help with insomnia and stress, that evidence on anxiety is unclear, and that many trials were small and used varied preparations. For ginseng, NCCIH notes most trials had fewer than 200 participants and lasted under three months. The Ashwagandha and Ginseng pages give fuller accounts and are not repeated here.

Evidence for the category as a whole

Searches of PubMed for adaptogens combined with clinical trials, systematic review and stress, for Rhodiola and fatigue reviews, and for critiques of the concept found reviews of single herbs or small sets of herbs, and no trial or review that tested the three Soviet criteria across the whole class. Luszczak and Kocki (2025) reviewed 24 randomized trials of two herbs, ashwagandha and Rhodiola, with 10 to 590 participants and 3 to 16 weeks of follow-up, and reported benefits for stress and sleep while noting heterogeneity, short duration and small samples. Todorova and colleagues state that human clinical trials of plant adaptogens are limited.

Mechanistic and early Soviet studies

Much of the support for the idea comes from animal and cell studies, which Panossian and Wikman link to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and to Hsp70, cortisol and nitric oxide pathways; such studies do not show effects in people. The same authors grade evidence for Rhodiola SHR-5 as strong and for Schisandra and eleuthero as good in fatigue, a view from researchers with product-linked affiliations. They also describe many early Soviet clinical studies as questionable because of weak methods and diagnostic criteria that differ from those used elsewhere.

Reports for specific herbs

NCCIH states that ashwagandha may be tolerated in the short term, up to three months, that liver injury is rare but reported, that it should be avoided in pregnancy and breastfeeding, and that it may interact with diabetes, blood pressure, sedative, anticonvulsant, immunosuppressant and thyroid medicines. For Asian ginseng NCCIH lists insomnia as the most common side effect and uncommon severe rash, liver damage and allergic reactions, with possible effects on blood sugar and clotting.

For Rhodiola, NCCIH describes use up to 12 weeks as possibly safe, lists dizziness, headache, insomnia and dry mouth or excess saliva, and reports a possible interaction with losartan. The European committee found mainly non-serious adverse events, one study showing about 21 percent lower losartan metabolite ratio of uncertain clinical relevance, and one case report of possible serotonergic symptoms with paroxetine, and does not recommend use in children, adolescents or pregnancy.

Product quality and use alongside care

UCLA Health quotes a dietitian cautioning that supplement potency may not match the label and that adaptogens should not replace standard care. The McGill commentary adds that plant chemistry varies with growing conditions, so composition differs between batches. People taking medicines are advised by NCCIH to speak with a health care provider before using any herbal product.

Stress as a symptom

The National Institute of Mental Health describes stress as a response to an external cause and anxiety as a persistent reaction; it advises talking to a professional when symptoms interfere with daily life or do not go away, and names psychotherapy and medication as main treatments for anxiety. Its fact sheet gives the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for people in immediate distress. The World Health Organization defines burn-out as a syndrome from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed, classified as an occupational phenomenon and not a medical condition. NCCIH advises anyone with possible depression to consult a health care provider. This page is information only and does not replace such care.