Roots of Steel

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The volume of data has convinced many of eleuthero’s value, including the German government.

Although the studies of the 1960s and 1970s in the former Soviet Union involved thousands of people, it’s difficult to assess the quality of the research because the Russian journals aren’t easy to find or translate. However, the research must have proved convincing because by 1976, it was estimated that three million Soviet citizens were using the extract on a regular basis, including Soviet cosmonauts orbiting the earth.

Soviets have attributed the outstanding performance of their athletes at the 1980 Olympics to the athletes’ use of eleuthero. Russian researchers have identified at least fourteen compounds called eleutherosides that contribute to the herb’s effectiveness. One, eleu­thero­side E, may play a large role in the herb’s stimulating and antistress action. Additionally, eleuthero has so far appeared to be as useful as, or perhaps stronger than, echinacea as an immuno-stimulating agent in pharmacological tests comparing the effects of the two herbs.

American skepticism,European endorsement

Farnsworth and colleagues concluded that the eleuthero extract is nontoxic, based on extensive animal testing, clinical trials, and human experience. Although it is unknown how the herb ­works, they also concluded that eleu­thero improves performance under a wide range of stressful conditions, and that the extract can modulate or inhibit various disease conditions in nonspe­­cific, or adaptogenic, ways.

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