Herb library · Herb · Rhodiola rosea
Rhodiola
A cold-climate root sold for energy, mood, stress, and athletic performance. There isn't enough reliable evidence to know whether it is useful for any health purpose.
Traditional use
Rhodiola grows in cold regions and at high altitudes in Europe, Asia, and North America, and has a long history of use in Russia, Scandinavia, and elsewhere in Europe for work performance, endurance, fatigue, low mood, and altitude sickness. Today it is sold for athletic performance, mood, thinking, energy, and stress.
Traditional energetics
Galenic (hot or cold, dry or moist)
Cold. Culpeper's Complete Herbal (1814), p. 225 (opens in a new tab)
What studies show
- Insufficient
Energy, mood, stress, thinking, and athletic performance: most research in people is of low to moderate quality, and NCCIH says we haven't learned enough to say whether rhodiola is useful for any health-related purpose.
Be careful of
Cautions
- NotePossibly safe for up to 12 weeks. Side effects may include dizziness, headache, trouble sleeping, and dry mouth or extra saliva.
- InteractionInteractions with losartan, a blood pressure drug, have been reported.
- ConditionDepression can be a serious illness. If you or someone in your family may have depression, see a clinician rather than relying on an herb.
- PregnancyLittle is known about its safety in pregnancy or while breastfeeding.
- Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.
From the old books
What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.
“Rose Root. Stamped and applied to the head it mitigates the pains thereof, being somewhat cool in quality.”
Sources
- Rhodiola: Usefulness and Safety (opens in a new tab) · NCCIH · read September 25, 2026
Reviewed September 25, 2026.