What adaptogens are?

Adaptogens are natural products that:

• Improve the overall fitness of the organism

• Improve the condition of cells and nerve tissue, vascular and reproductive system,

• Accelerate and enhance metabolism and metabolism.

• Accelerate healing and regenerative processes.

• Slow down the degenerative processes in the body, aging, wear the body, organs, tissues and cells.

• Favorably affect multiple functions simultaneously, balance the values ​​of these fluctuations pathological features and content of certain substances in the body, help to improve these functions.

• Counteracts inflammation.

• Energizes the physical and mental region

Examples of adaptogens are:

• True ginseng (Panax ginseng)

• Wolfberry (Schizandra chinensis)

• Leuzea carthamoides (syn. Rhaponticum carthamoides)

• Rhodiola rosea (Rhodiola rosea, a son. R. elongata, Sedum Roseum, S. elongatum, S. rhodiola, Crassulaceae)

• Mumio - has a firming effect on muscle mass and body building, causing enhance physical and mental endurance and increased insensitivity to stress, strengthens the immune system, has antioxidant effects, dramatic increase in mental ability. Only very few substances is so powerful adaptogenic properties.

• More in adaptogens section

Among adaptogens definitely does not cover:

•     coffee (and other plants that contain caffeine)

•     ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, cocaine

Definitions of the adaptogen
 

The term adaptogen, which created the Russian scientist Dr. Nikolai Lazarev in 1947, refers to a substance (plant, animal or synthetic origin), which increases the body's resistance to stressful situations, such as injuries, anxiety or physical fatigue.

Lazarev created the criteria by which to assess whether the plant belongs to the adaptogens:

• Must have minimal adverse effects on physiological functions of the organism.

• Must increase body's resistance to adverse influences not by specific action, but through a wide range of physical, chemical and biochemical factors.

• Must have an overall normalizing effect, improving all states and don't go worse any of them.

Indicates that the adaptogenic herbal drugs are unique compared to other substances in their ability to balance hormones and the immune system. They help the body maintain optimal homeostasis. (Homeostasis is the body's ability to maintain a stable internal environment.)

Used synonyms: Harmonizer and stimulator, biological substance which increases performance and immunity against certain diseases and stress.


The main requirements for adaptogens include:
 

• be harmless - to cause minimal disturbance of physiological functions of the organism, as well as reduce the demands on these functions

• xenobiotics to be nonspecific

• increase the resistance of the organism against negative influences of environmental factors,

• increase non-specific immunity

• standardize some of its pathologies and reduce the prooxidant potential.

Content substance adaptogens:
 

• adversely affect the physiological functions of organism

• during concomitant administration with other drugs do not cause adverse reactions virtually

• their toxicity is minimal and acceptable from an organoleptic point of view (for eventual use in products for particular nutritional uses)

• raw materials from which they are collected, they are readily available, they can be used without increased financial demands on the production of large-scale,

• some adaptogenic substances positively affect their effect in a larger number of pharmacotherapeutic groups affecting the cardiovascular system,

• selection of sources is governed primarily by the historical experience of folk medicine,

• taxa or certain substances contained are applicable in several spheres, which reduces economic demands in their acquisition and research in this area moves rapidly forward.