Herbs 
for Depression | What is it? Rhodiola is a plant. The root is used as medicine.
Other terms for it are:
Arctic Root, Extrait de Rhodiole, Golden Root, Hongjingtian, King's Crown, Lignum Rhodium, Orpin Rose, Racine d’Or, Racine Dorée, Racine de Rhadiola, Rhodiola rosea, Rhodiole, Rhodiole Rougeâtre, Rodia Riza, Rose Root, and Rose Root Extract.
Rhodiola is used for many conditions, but so far, there is little scientific evidence to determine whether or not it is effective for any of them, until now.
Mental health help | Phytomedicine has released a study proposing that rhodiola rosea (R. rosea, roseroot), could be a beneficial treatment option for major depressive disorder.
Dr Jun J. Mao, associate professor, Perelman School of Medicine, and colleagues examined 57 adult participants diagnosed with major depressive disorder, from December 2010 through April 2013. The participants received R. rosea extract, sertraline, or placebo throughout a 12-week period.
“These results are a bit preliminary but they suggest that herbal therapy may have the potential to help patients with depression who cannot tolerate conventional antidepressants due to side effects,” said Dr. Mao.
From their study, experts determined that although sertraline proved to be the best treatment option (1.9 times the improvement), participants who took R. rosea were 1.4 times more likely to feel improvements than those on a placebo. Individuals treated with R. rosea also experienced less side effects (30%) compared to patients on sertraline (63%).
Depression help | Although R. rosea provided a slightly less antidepressant effect, it has shown to be better tolerated in terms of risk to benefit ratio.
According to Webmd, Rhodiola is used for increasing energy, stamina, strength and mental capacity; and as a so-called “adaptogen” to help the body adapt to and resist physical, chemical, and environmental stress. It is also used for improving athletic performance, shortening recovery time after long workouts, improving sexual function; for depression; and for heart disorders such as irregular heartbeat and high cholesterol. Be in the know with your mental health.
As western medicine continues its search for better ways to treat for depression, the path will continue to be using much of what nature has given us. As always, please consult your prescriber whenever adding or supplementing your body to improve your condition.
