Eleuthero, also known as Siberian ginseng, is the root, root bark, or stem of a shrub in the ginseng family. It grows in thickets in northeast China, eastern Russia, Korea, and Japan's northern island, Hokkaido. Most of the supply comes from Siberia and China, but it is also grown in eastern Europe. The Chinese call it ci-wu-jia.
Eleuthero has been used in China as a tonic for invigorating vital energy (qi) for more than 2,000 years. It is listed in the first (most important) class of herbs in Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, but some Chinese scholars question whether Shen Nong actually described eleuthero or another plant. Its recent use in China derives from Russian research since the early 1950s. In Chinese medicine, it is used to normalize body functions, restore vigor, improve health, promote good appetite, and help to assure a long life. Generally, it serves as a preventive medicine and general tonic.
I. I. Brekhman, the leading Russian researcher on ginseng, has described eleuthero as an "adaptogen", an innocuous substance that causes minimal disorders of an organism's function. It must have a "nonspecific action" that normalizes body functions, no matter what the condition or disease. Adaptogens are essentially general tonics.
Since the early 1950s, studies have shown that eleuthero extract increases mental alertness, work output, and the quality of work under stressful conditions and in athletic performance. In addition, it strongly stimulates the immune system.
German authorities allow eleuthero to be labeled as an invigorating tonic for fatigue, convalescence, decreased work capacity, or difficulty in concentration.
In the United States, product forms include the dried powdered roots or stems, capsules, tablets, and tinctures. Most Russian research was done on a 33 percent ethanol extract.
Although no side effects, as such, are reported for eleuthero, the German Commission E notes that people with high blood pressure should avoid it, but there does not appear to be good clinical evidence to support this caution.