Rhodiola
Rhodiola rosea is a flowering plant of cold, high-altitude regions whose root was used in Scandinavian and Russian folk medicine against fatigue. Standardized extracts show small benefits for stress-related fatigue in a handful of trials, nearly all of one extract, SHR-5. Unusually for an herb, a single dose has been tested and measured within hours.
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What It Does
The root's marker compounds are rosavins, found only in R. rosea, and salidroside, found across several Rhodiola species. Rhodiola is called an adaptogen, a Soviet-era term for substances that increase resistance to stress. Proposed mechanisms, including effects on stress hormone signaling and cellular stress proteins, come mostly from animal studies.
The chronic dosing trials are small. In 56 young physicians working night duty, 170 mg a day of SHR-5 for two weeks improved a composite fatigue score built from mental performance tests (Darbinyan 2000). In 60 adults with stress-related fatigue, 576 mg a day for 28 days improved attention and burnout scores and lowered the cortisol response to waking, compared with placebo (Olsson 2009). A 2012 systematic review found the trials too few and too flawed to support firm conclusions (Ishaque 2012).
The acute data come from 161 military cadets: a single dose of 370 or 555 mg reduced a fatigue index on mental work tests compared with placebo, with no difference between the two doses (Shevtsov 2003). For depression, rhodiola did not separate from placebo in a 12-week trial in 57 adults, though neither did sertraline, and rhodiola caused fewer side effects (Mao 2015).
Quality is a real problem. An analysis of commercial products found a substantial share without the rosavins that identify R. rosea, some substituted with other species (Booker 2016).
Forms and Bioavailability
Absorption ratings are broad tiers. Head-to-head human trials rarely support a finer ranking among well-absorbed forms.
| Form | Absorption | Typical dose | Cost | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SHR-5 ExtractSHR-5, Swedish Herbal Institute rhodiola extract | VariableEthanol-water extract of R. rosea root, standardized by the manufacturer; used in most of the controlled trials. | 170-680 mg daily | Moderate | 82 |
| Rhodiola Extract (3% Rosavins, 1% Salidroside)rosavin-standardized rhodiola | VariableGeneric extract standardized to the roughly 3:1 rosavin to salidroside ratio of R. rosea root. | 200-600 mg daily | Low | 223 |
| Rhodiola Root Powdergolden root powder | LowUnstandardized dried root; marker content per gram is unknown. | Per product | Low |
Labels column: number of labels named as rhodiola products that list this form. A product can list more than one form, and some labels do not state a form at all.
SHR-5 is a specific ethanol-water extract and the one most trials used. Generic extracts standardized to 3% rosavins and 1% salidroside mirror the natural ratio in R. rosea root and are a reasonable substitute, though not identical. Salidroside-only products and Rhodiola crenulata come from different sources and do not share the R. rosea evidence. Root powder is unstandardized.
Typical Dosing
Trials of the SHR-5 extract used 170-680 mg daily for 2-6 weeks, or a single dose of about 370-555 mg before a demanding task.
What to Look For
Take rhodiola in the morning or early afternoon, since it can be stimulating. For ongoing fatigue, 200-600 mg daily for a few weeks matches the trials. For a single demanding day, one dose of about 400-550 mg an hour or two beforehand matches the acute study. Stop it if sleep worsens.
Use caution with bipolar disorder, since stimulating herbs can provoke agitation, and avoid it in pregnancy, where it has not been studied.
Red flags: "adaptogen" blends with five herbs at undisclosed doses, products that list only salidroside, and R. crenulata sold as rhodiola without a species name. Green flags: R. rosea named, rosavin and salidroside percentages stated, and third-party testing.
SHR-5 Extract
The extract behind most of the trials. Effects are modest and best documented for fatigue under stress.
What to look for: SHR-5 named on the label, 200-600 mg daily.
Find on iHerb Affiliate linkRhodiola Extract (3% Rosavins, 1% Salidroside)
A sound substitute when standardized to both markers.
What to look for: R. rosea root extract with 3% rosavins and 1% salidroside stated.
Find on iHerb Affiliate linkProducts on Titrate
1,554 of the 214,745 labels in the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database list rhodiola as an active ingredient (844 on market). 370 are sold as rhodiola products by name.
Top on-market labels, ranked by label completeness and simplicity:
- Rhodiola Rosea
- Rhodiola 1000 mg
- Siberian Rhodiola
- Rhodiola Herbal Complex
- Rhodiola & Ashwagandha with L-Theanine
Rhodiola does not have its own search category yet. Each product above links to its full label in the NIH database.
Related Tools
References
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Rhodiola.
Darbinyan V, Kteyan A, Panossian A, Gabrielian E, Wikman G, Wagner H. Rhodiola rosea in stress induced fatigue: a double blind cross-over study of a standardized extract SHR-5 with a repeated low-dose regimen on the mental performance of healthy physicians during night duty. Phytomedicine. 2000;7(5):365-371.
Shevtsov VA, Zholus BI, Shervarly VI, et al. A randomized trial of two different doses of a SHR-5 Rhodiola rosea extract versus placebo and control of capacity for mental work. Phytomedicine. 2003;10(2-3):95-105.
Olsson EM, von Schéele B, Panossian AG. A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study of the standardised extract SHR-5 of the roots of Rhodiola rosea in the treatment of subjects with stress-related fatigue. Planta Med. 2009;75(2):105-112.
Ishaque S, Shamseer L, Bukutu C, Vohra S. Rhodiola rosea for physical and mental fatigue: a systematic review. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2012;12:70.
Mao JJ, Xie SX, Zee J, et al. Rhodiola rosea versus sertraline for major depressive disorder: a randomized placebo-controlled trial. Phytomedicine. 2015;22(4):394-399.
Booker A, Jalil B, Frommenwiler D, et al. The authenticity and quality of Rhodiola rosea products. Phytomedicine. 2016;23(7):754-762.
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