Eleutherococcus senticosus (Rupr. & Maxim.) Maxim.

Acanthopanax asperatus Franch. & Sav.; A. senticosus (Rupr. & Maxim) Harms; and others

Araliaceae

Eleuthero; taigo; thorny ginseng (NB: It is illegal to market products containing this herb as ‘Siberian ginseng’ in the United States, as the name ‘ginseng’ is reserved for Panax species; see p. 173)

Eleutherococci radix

Root

Siberian ginseng contains triterpene saponins, which are chemically distinct from American and Asian ginseng, and known as eleutherosides; lignans such as syringaresinol; coumarins; and polysaccharides; all of which may contribute to the effects (Huang et al. 2011a; Wichtl 2008).

E. senticosus root extract (120 mg/day for two days) was assessed for its effect when used as part of stress management training. While the training showed benefits, the addition of Siberian ginseng did not show additional benefits (Schaffler et al. 2013), indicating that it is not useful for short-term interventions.

When chronic fatigue was treated with E. senticosus root extract (2 g/day, containing approximately 9 mg of eleutherosides, 1 month duration) the Rand Vitality Index scores improved significantly compared to placebo. A 2-month treatment was significantly effective in a subset of subjects with mild-to-moderate fatigue, but not in the entire group (Hartz et al. 2004; Panossian 2013).

Eleutherococcus root reduced total and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose in healthy human volunteers. An ergospirometric test revealed a higher oxygen plateau, suggesting that active components in the root affect cellular defence and physical fitness, as well as lipid metabolism (Szoomicki et al. 2000).