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LATIN NAME
Rhodiola Rosea
ALSO KNOWN AS
Arctic root, Golden root.
ORIGIN
Arctic Siberia.
PARTS USED
Root.
In folk medicine it has a legendary history dating back thousands of years. We know, for example, that the ancient Greeks used Rhodiola rosea. In 77 A.D., the Greek physician Dioscorides documented the medical applications of the plant, which he then called rodia riza, in his classic medical text De Materia Medica.
But how did Rhodiola rosea travel more than 2,000 miles from the remote Caucasus Mountains, where it grows wild, to ancient Greece? Our search for the answer to this question took us back more than 3,000 years, to the 13th century B.C. -- the Greek Bronze Age. That's when trading expeditions crossed the Aegean Sea, the Hellespont (Dardanelles), the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus, and the Black Sea to a land called Colchis, in what is now the Republic of Georgia.
One of the best-known myths of this era celebrates the voyage of Jason and his famous crew, the Argonauts, which included Hercules and Orpheus. Like most myths, the story of Jason, the Argonauts, and the Golden Fleece blends fact with fantasy. But it hints at an intriguing theory of how Rhodiola rosea might have made the incredible journey to Greece from its native land.
The Greeks were not the only ancient people who valued Rhodiola rosea. The Vikings depended on the herb to enhance their physical strength and endurance, while Chinese emperors sent expeditions to Siberia to bring back "the golden root" for medicinal preparations. The people of central Asia considered a tea brewed from Rhodiola rosea to be the most effective treatment for cold and flu. Mongolian physicians prescribed it for tuberculosis and cancer.
Rhodiola rosea Herbal Powder
Suggested dosage - Take 500mg to 1 gram once or twice a day or use as directed by a herbal practitioner.
Use mixed with milk, fruit juice. |
