for educational and safety purposes
Stress-buffering adaptogens and actoprotectors; the compounds used to blunt fatigue and even out the day.
25 sourced · 38 reference
Bacopa monnieri is a creeping wetland herb of the family Plantaginaceae, known in Ayurvedic tradition as brahmi and used for centuries as a remedy for memory and mental clarity. Its characteristic compounds are a group of triterpenoid saponins called bacosides, and standardized extracts are marketed as dietary supplements aimed at cognition. Clinical trials suggest it may modestly aid memory in some settings, though the overall evidence is mixed and it is not an approved medicine.
Pterostilbene is a naturally occurring stilbenoid closely related to resveratrol, from which it differs by carrying two methoxy groups in place of hydroxyl groups. It is found chiefly in blueberries, grapes, and the heartwood of certain trees, where it serves as a defensive phytoalexin. The methoxy substitution makes it substantially more lipophilic, metabolically stable, and blood-brain-barrier permeable than resveratrol; in Alzheimer's-model mice it improved cognition and reduced neuroinflammation at dietary doses that were ineffective for resveratrol, apparently acting through PPAR-alpha rather than the sirtuins. It has been studied in humans in combination with nicotinamide riboside to raise NAD+ levels, and is sold as a dietary supplement rather than an approved medicine.
Bromantane is an adamantane-derived actoprotector that delivers clean, non-jittery energy by increasing the body's own dopamine synthesis rather than forcing a release. Prized for boosting physical and mental stamina while carrying a genuine anti-anxiety quality, it stands out as a rare stimulant that builds resilience without a crash or dependence. For those seeking durable drive and stress resistance, bromantane is a uniquely compelling choice.
American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) is a slow-growing perennial herb of the ivy family, native to the hardwood forests of eastern North America and prized for its aromatic root. It has been harvested and traded for centuries, especially for export to East Asia, where it is used in traditional medicine and valued as a tonic distinct in character from Asian ginseng. Its roots contain ginsenosides, and modern research has examined it for effects on blood sugar, cognition, cancer-related fatigue, and the common cold [1][2].
Ashwagandha is an adaptogenic herb prepared from the root of Withania somnifera, a small evergreen shrub in the nightshade family (Solanaceae) native to parts of Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent. It has been used for centuries in Ayurveda, India's traditional system of medicine, as a rejuvenating tonic. Its main active constituents are steroidal lactones known as withanolides, and it is among the better-studied herbal supplements, with clinical research centering on stress, anxiety, and sleep.
Chaga is the common name for Inonotus obliquus, a fungus that grows as a hard, blackened mass on birch and other trees in the cold forests of the Northern Hemisphere [1]. Although its charred-looking growth resembles burnt wood, it is actually a sterile mass of fungal tissue rich in melanin, and it has a long history in folk medicine across Russia and northern Europe, where it is often brewed as a tea [1][2]. Modern laboratory research has examined chaga extracts and their polysaccharides for antioxidant, immune, and anticancer activity, but strong clinical evidence in people is lacking, and its very high oxalate content raises safety concerns with heavy or prolonged use [1][2][3].
Chlodantane is an adamantane-derived adaptogen developed in Russian pharmacology to rapidly boost the body's resistance to physical, chemical, and thermal stress. A close relative of bromantane, it pairs fast-acting adaptogenic effects with immune-stimulating, membrane-protective activity. For those interested in stress resistance and resilience compounds, chlodantane is an intriguing member of the adamantane family.
Cordyceps is a genus of ascomycete fungi that live as parasites of insects and other arthropods, with more than 200 described species distributed mainly across Asia. The genus is best known for the caterpillar fungus, long placed here but now reclassified as Ophiocordyceps sinensis, and for the type species Cordyceps militaris, both of which feature prominently in traditional Chinese and Tibetan medicine. Interest in these fungi centers on bioactive constituents such as the nucleoside cordycepin and various polysaccharides, though rigorous human evidence for health claims remains limited.
Fadogia agrestis is a shrub in the coffee family (Rubiaceae) native to West Africa, where its stem has a traditional reputation as an aphrodisiac. It has become popular as a dietary supplement marketed for raising testosterone and libido. The evidence behind those claims comes almost entirely from animal studies, and its safety in humans has not been established.
Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) is an annual legume whose aromatic seeds and leaves are used worldwide as a spice and in traditional medicine. Its seeds, which carry a maple-like aroma, are taken as a dietary supplement marketed for blood sugar, cholesterol, testosterone and milk production in nursing mothers. High-quality clinical evidence for most of these uses is still limited.
Nootrop is a capsule blend of glycine with gotu kola and ginkgo biloba extracts and four B vitamins, sold as a general cognition and calm supplement.
Gotu kola is the common name for Centella asiatica, a small creeping herbaceous plant of the family Apiaceae that grows in wetlands across Asia and other warm regions. It has a long history in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine, where it has been used for wound healing, skin conditions, and as a tonic said to support memory and mental clarity. Its activity is attributed to a group of pentacyclic triterpenoid compounds, including asiaticoside, madecassoside, and their related acids.
Lovelas Forte is a Russian herbal capsule blend sold for erectile function and libido.
Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is an edible plant of the mustard family, Brassicaceae, native to the high Andes of Peru. Its starchy root, or hypocotyl, has been eaten and used as a traditional remedy for centuries and is now sold worldwide as a powder or extract. It is best known for claims around libido, sexual function, and energy, although the clinical evidence is modest and mixed.
Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is a flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae, recognizable by its spiny leaves veined with white and its purple flower heads. Its seeds yield silymarin, a complex of flavonolignans that has been used in traditional medicine for liver complaints since antiquity. Today milk thistle is marketed chiefly as a herbal dietary supplement, and silymarin remains a focus of research into liver protection.
Mucuna pruriens, commonly called velvet bean or cowhage, is a tropical climbing legume of the family Fabaceae whose seeds are a rich natural source of levodopa (L-DOPA), the precursor of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Long used in Ayurvedic medicine, its seed extracts are marketed as dietary supplements and have been studied as a plant-based option in Parkinson disease. The plant is also notorious for the fine hairs on its pods, which cause intense itching on contact with skin.
Nigella sativa is an annual flowering plant of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), native to parts of western Asia and southeastern Europe and best known for its small black seeds, sold under names such as black seed, black cumin, and kalonji. The seeds have served for millennia as a culinary spice and as a fixture of traditional medicine across the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. Their most studied constituent is thymoquinone, a compound concentrated in the seed's volatile oil. Laboratory work has documented antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, though high-quality clinical evidence that the seed or its oil treats human disease remains limited.
Reishi, known in China as lingzhi and scientifically as Ganoderma lucidum and related species, is a woody polypore mushroom native to East Asia. It has been used in Chinese and other East Asian traditional medicine for more than two thousand years, where it was sometimes called the mushroom of immortality. Its most studied constituents are triterpenoids known as ganoderic acids and cell-wall polysaccharides such as beta-glucans.
Rhodiola rosea, commonly called golden root or roseroot, is a perennial flowering plant of the family Crassulaceae that grows in cold, high-altitude and Arctic regions. Its root has a long history of use in the traditional medicine of northern Europe and Asia, and it is popularly classed as an adaptogen, an herb said to help the body resist stress and fatigue. Its most characteristic studied constituents are the phenolic compounds rosavin and salidroside, though high-quality clinical evidence for its benefits is limited.
Saffron is a spice obtained from the dried red stigmas of the flower Crocus sativus, and it is among the most expensive spices in the world by weight. Beyond its long use in cooking as a coloring and flavoring, it has been investigated as a herbal remedy, most notably for depression and low mood. Its characteristic color, taste, and aroma come from the compounds crocin, picrocrocin, and safranal.
Shilajit is a blackish-brown, tar-like exudate that seeps from rocks in high mountain ranges and is composed largely of humic substances such as fulvic acid together with minerals and trace elements. It has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic and other traditional systems as a general tonic. Modern evidence for its health effects is limited, and product quality varies, with heavy-metal contamination a recognized concern.
Testogenon is a Russian herbal and amino acid capsule sold on the claim that it raises the body's own testosterone.
Tiger Milk Mushroom is a polypore from Malaysia and neighbouring parts of South East Asia, and the part sold is the sclerotium, a dense underground storage body rather than the cap. Indigenous communities in Malaysia have used it for cough, asthma and general stamina for centuries, and the name comes from the story that it grows where a tigress dripped milk. It was effectively unbuyable until the 2010s because it could not be farmed; wild sclerotia were rare enough to be a luxury item. A Malaysian company then succeeded in cultivating it by solid-state fermentation, which is why almost every product on the market is the same cultivar, TM02, and why almost every study names that cultivar too.
Tongkat ali is the common name for Eurycoma longifolia, a flowering shrub of the family Simaroubaceae native to Southeast Asia, whose roots are used in traditional medicine and sold as a dietary supplement [1]. It is widely marketed for claims about testosterone, male fertility, libido, and physical performance, though the supporting clinical evidence is mixed and largely preliminary [1][3]. The plant contains a range of bioactive compounds known as quassinoids, including eurycomanone.
Trekrezan is a Russian actoprotector and adaptogen (a synthetic agent that raises the body's nonspecific resistance to physical, thermal, and hypoxic stress) that also acts as an immunomodulator and antioxidant. Chemically it is tris(2-hydroxyethyl)ammonium 2-methylphenoxyacetate, the triethanolamine salt of ortho-cresoxyacetic acid (molecular formula C15H25NO6), and the same active substance is marketed in agriculture and microbiology under the name Crezacin. It was developed by the school of academician Mikhail Voronkov at the Irkutsk Institute of Organic Chemistry, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and has been studied primarily in rodent models with a smaller body of human cold-exposure data. Rather than binding a single receptor, Trekrezan is characterized as an energy-stabilizing, meteoadaptogenic compound that shifts stressed tissue metabolism back toward aerobic ATP production, strengthens enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant defenses, and modulates humoral immunity and hematopoiesis.
5-alpha-Hydroxy-Laxogenin is a spirostanol brassinosteroid, a plant sterol, sold in supplements as a "natural anabolic" or adaptogen. Despite the marketing, solid human evidence that it builds muscle or acts like an anabolic steroid is essentially absent. It is best thought of as a plant-derived compound with claimed but unproven ergogenic effects.
Agaricus blazei is an edible mushroom, more correctly known by the scientific name Agaricus subrufescens, that is used both as food and as a traditional health supplement. Native to the Americas and widely cultivated in Brazil and Japan, it is prized for its almond-like aroma and marketed under names such as almond mushroom and royal sun agaricus. It contains polysaccharides including beta-glucans that are the focus of research into immune and liver effects, though strong clinical evidence for medicinal benefit remains limited.
Agarikon is the common name for Laricifomes officinalis, a large, long-lived bracket fungus that grows on conifer trees in the old-growth forests of Europe, Asia, and North America. Also called the quinine conk or larch bracket, it has a long history of medicinal and ceremonial use, from ancient Greek treatments for consumption to the spiritual practices of Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest. Now rare and declining, it is the subject of modern research into antimicrobial and antiviral compounds found in its wood-decaying tissue.
Amycenone is a standardized bioactive extract obtained from the Yamabushitake mushroom (Hericium erinaceus), studied as an anti-inflammatory antidepressant. In a lipopolysaccharide-induced mouse model of inflammatory depression, oral amycenone blocked the rise in tumor necrosis factor-alpha, increased the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10, and reduced depression-like immobility in the tail-suspension and forced-swim tests, with effects comparable to the SSRI paroxetine. It is investigated as a natural supplement for inflammation-related mood disorders.
Andrographis is a herbal supplement made from Andrographis paniculata, an annual plant of the family Acanthaceae native to South and Southeast Asia and known by common names such as green chiretta and kalmegh. Its main active constituents are bitter diterpenoid compounds, chiefly andrographolide. Long used in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine for fever and colds, it is taken today mainly as a remedy for upper respiratory infections, though the supporting clinical evidence is of variable quality.
Ashitaba is the common name for Angelica keiskei, a perennial flowering plant in the carrot family (Apiaceae) native to the Pacific coast of Japan. Its Japanese name means "tomorrow's leaf," a reference to how quickly it regrows after being cut. The plant is eaten as a vegetable and used in Japanese folk medicine, and its yellow sap is notable for containing distinctive chalcones, chiefly xanthoangelol and 4-hydroxyderricin, which are the focus of most laboratory research.
Astragaloside IV is a cycloartane-type triterpenoid saponin and one of the principal bioactive constituents of Astragalus membranaceus (Astragali Radix, or huang qi), a root long used in traditional Chinese medicine. It is commonly used as a chemical marker for the quality control of astragalus preparations. In laboratory and animal research it has drawn interest for anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and cardioprotective activity, though clinical evidence in humans remains limited.
Astragalus is a herbal medicine prepared from the dried root of Astragalus membranaceus (also classified as Astragalus mongholicus or Astragalus propinquus), a flowering legume known in Chinese as huang qi. It is one of the most widely used tonic herbs in traditional Chinese medicine, where the root is valued for supporting energy and immune function. Its roots contain saponins such as astragaloside IV, polysaccharides, and flavonoids, and modern research has focused mainly on its immune-modulating properties.
Astragalus polysaccharides (often abbreviated APS) are the carbohydrate fraction extracted from the root of Astragalus membranaceus, the legume used in traditional Chinese medicine as huang qi. They are regarded as one of the main groups of bioactive compounds in the root and are studied chiefly for immune-modulating activity. Most of the evidence comes from cell and animal experiments, where the polysaccharides act on immune cells and their signaling pathways.
Bitter melon extract is a herbal preparation derived from Momordica charantia, a tropical and subtropical vine of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae) whose warty, intensely bitter fruit is both a vegetable and a traditional medicine. Long used in Asian, African, and Caribbean cooking and folk remedies, the plant and its extracts have been studied mainly for a possible blood-sugar-lowering effect in type 2 diabetes [1]. Clinical evidence for this use is mixed and generally of low quality, with some trials and analyses suggesting a modest benefit and others finding no clear effect [2][3]. It is sold as a dietary supplement in the form of capsules, powders, teas, and juices.
Boswellia is a genus of flowering trees in the family Burseraceae whose fragrant oleo-gum resin, known as frankincense, has a long history in traditional medicine. Standardized extracts of Boswellia serrata are studied chiefly as anti-inflammatory agents, with a family of pentacyclic triterpenes called boswellic acids regarded as the main active constituents. Research has focused on osteoarthritis and other inflammatory conditions.
Cat's claw (Uncaria tomentosa) is a woody climbing vine of the madder family (Rubiaceae) native to the Amazon rainforest and other parts of Central and South America, named for the curved, claw-like thorns along its stems. Its root and bark have long been used in Peruvian and other indigenous herbal traditions, and it is now sold worldwide as a dietary supplement, chiefly for immune support and joint and inflammatory conditions. Laboratory and small clinical studies point to anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity, but high-quality evidence for treating human disease remains limited.
Catuaba is a common name for the bark of several Brazilian trees, most often Trichilia catigua and Erythroxylum vaccinifolium, used in folk medicine as an aphrodisiac and general tonic. Prepared traditionally as a bark infusion, it is taken for fatigue, low libido, and nervousness, and is sold internationally as a dietary supplement. Preclinical studies, chiefly on Trichilia catigua, report antidepressant-like, antioxidant, and neuroprotective effects, but there is little clinical evidence in humans, and products vary widely because the name covers more than one plant.
Celastrus paniculatus is a woody climbing shrub of the family Celastraceae, native to India and known in English as the intellect tree or black oil plant [1][2]. Its seeds and the oil pressed from them have a long history in Ayurvedic, Unani, and Siddha traditional medicine, where they are counted among the memory-supporting 'Medhya Rasayana' tonics and used for a range of nervous-system complaints [2][3]. Modern laboratory and animal studies have examined the seed oil and extracts for antioxidant, neuroprotective, and nootropic activity, though controlled human trials are lacking [2][4].
Cistanche is a genus of parasitic desert plants in the family Orobanchaceae whose dried fleshy stems have long been used in traditional Chinese medicine. Known in Chinese as rou cong rong and nicknamed desert ginseng, it is taken as a tonic said to support vitality, sexual function, and healthy aging. Its most studied constituents are phenylethanoid glycosides such as echinacoside and acteoside, though most of the supporting evidence to date comes from laboratory and animal research.
Clitoria ternatea is a perennial climbing legume of the family Fabaceae, widely known as butterfly pea or blue pea for its vivid blue flowers [1][5]. Native to equatorial Asia, it is now grown across the tropics as an ornamental, a nitrogen-fixing cover crop, and a source of natural blue food colouring [1][5]. In the traditional medicine of South Asia it has long been used as a memory tonic, and modern laboratory studies have examined its extracts for effects on cognition and the nervous system [2][6].
Convolvulus pluricaulis is a small perennial herb of the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae), native to India and best known in Ayurvedic medicine as shankhpushpi [1][2]. It has long been used as a brain tonic to support memory and to calm the mind, and it is one of several plants traditionally sold under the shankhpushpi name [2][4]. Modern laboratory research has examined its extracts for memory-enhancing, anxiety-reducing and neuroprotective effects, although evidence in humans remains limited [2][3].
Dong quai is the dried root of Angelica sinensis, a flowering plant of the carrot family native to the mountains of China and East Asia, sometimes called female ginseng. It is one of the most widely used herbs in traditional Chinese medicine, where it has long been taken for women's health concerns such as menstrual and menopausal complaints and as a general blood tonic. Modern controlled studies have not shown it to be effective for these purposes, and it is sold in Western countries as a dietary supplement rather than an approved medicine. Because it contains natural coumarins, it can interact with blood-thinning drugs.
Echinacea is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae), native to North America, whose roots and aerial parts are widely used in herbal medicine. Preparations, most often from Echinacea purpurea, are marketed chiefly to prevent or shorten the common cold, though controlled trials have given inconsistent results. It is generally well tolerated and is sold as a dietary supplement rather than an approved medicine.
Eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus), also called Siberian ginseng, is a woody shrub native to northeastern Asia whose root and rhizome are used in traditional Chinese, Korean, and Russian medicine. It is classed as an adaptogen, a substance believed to help the body resist physical and mental stress and fatigue. Despite long use and popular sale as a supplement, controlled clinical evidence for its benefits is limited and inconsistent.
Ethomersol is a benzimidazole actoprotector and antihypoxant (5-ethoxy-2-ethylthio-1H-benzimidazole) developed within the Soviet military-medical pharmacology school as the lipophilic 5-ethoxy analog of bemitil. As an actoprotector it is designed to raise and sustain physical and mental work capacity under adverse conditions without increasing oxygen consumption or heat production, placing it in the same "synthetic adaptogen" class as bemitil and bromantane. It belongs to the aliphatic and cyclic aminothiol lineage synthesized by F.Yu. Rachinsky and studied under V.M. Vinogradov at the S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy, alongside gutimin, amtizole and bemitil. Rather than acting on a classical receptor, it normalizes cellular energy metabolism during oxygen deficit, acts as a direct antioxidant, and stimulates adaptive protein synthesis, giving it combined antihypoxic, antioxidant, energotropic and reparative activity documented in preclinical models of hypoxia, toxic injury, and traumatic brain injury.
Ginger is the rhizome of Zingiber officinale, a flowering herbaceous perennial in the family Zingiberaceae that has served for millennia as both a culinary spice and a folk remedy. Native to Maritime Southeast Asia, where Austronesian peoples are thought to have first domesticated it, the plant is prized for its pungent, aromatic root, whose flavor derives chiefly from gingerols and related shogaols. Ginger is used fresh, dried, powdered, pickled, or candied, and among its many traditional uses it is most studied for easing nausea.
Ginseng is the fleshy root of several slow-growing perennial plants in the genus Panax, part of the ivy family Araliaceae, and it is among the most widely used herbs in traditional East Asian medicine. The best known species are Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng) and American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), both valued for a group of active saponins called ginsenosides. Ginseng is taken as a general tonic and is marketed to support energy, cognition, and resilience to stress, although clinical evidence for these uses is mixed.
Ginsenoside Rg1 is one of the most abundant and extensively studied saponins found in ginseng, particularly Panax ginseng and Panax notoginseng. It belongs to the protopanaxatriol group of dammarane-type triterpene glycosides and is a major contributor to the pharmacological profile attributed to ginseng. In laboratory and animal research, Rg1 has drawn attention chiefly for antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects, and it is investigated as a candidate agent in models of neurodegenerative and cognitive disorders.
Ginsenosides are a class of natural steroid glycosides and triterpene saponins found almost exclusively in plants of the genus Panax, the source of ginseng. They are regarded as the principal active constituents behind ginseng's biological effects, and more than a hundred distinct ginsenosides have been characterized. Structurally most belong to the dammarane family and are divided into protopanaxadiol and protopanaxatriol types, with individual members such as Rb1, Rg1, and Re studied for antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective activities.
He Shou Wu, also known as fo-ti or tuber fleeceflower, is the processed root of Reynoutria multiflora (formerly Polygonum multiflorum), a climbing plant of the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae, native to China. It is one of the most widely used tonic herbs in traditional Chinese medicine, historically taken for hair color, vitality, and longevity. Modern attention has focused both on its bioactive stilbenes and anthraquinones and on well-documented cases of liver injury linked to its use.
Hericenone C is an aromatic fatty-acid ester isolated from the fruiting body of Hericium erinaceus and one of the classic small-molecule inducers of nerve growth factor synthesis identified from Lion's Mane. Together with hericenones D and E it helped establish the scientific basis for the mushroom's traditional reputation as a nerve tonic. Unlike the mycelial erinacines, hericenones are relatively large and lipophilic and are thought to act largely peripherally rather than crossing the blood brain barrier efficiently.
Hericenone D is an aromatic fatty-acid ester from the fruiting body of Hericium erinaceus, one of the original nerve growth factor-inducing hericenones described from Lion's Mane. It is closely related to hericenones C and E and contributes to the neurotrophic activity attributed to fruiting-body extracts. Like its congeners it is considered to act predominantly in the peripheral nervous system rather than crossing the blood brain barrier.
Jiaogulan is a climbing vine in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae, whose scientific name is Gynostemma pentaphyllum. Native to parts of South and East Asia, its leaves are brewed as a herbal tea and used in traditional Chinese and other folk medicine, where it has earned nicknames such as southern ginseng and five-leaf ginseng [1]. Its notable constituents are saponins called gypenosides, some of which are structurally close to the ginsenosides of true ginseng [1][2].
Maitake (Grifola frondosa) is an edible and medicinal mushroom native to temperate forests of East Asia and North America, where it grows in large clustered fruiting bodies at the base of trees. It is valued both as a culinary mushroom and as a source of bioactive polysaccharides, especially beta-glucans, that have been studied for immune-modulating and antitumor effects [1][3]. A partially purified extract known as maitake D-fraction has been the focus of much of the medicinal research [2][3].
Olive leaf extract is a herbal preparation made from the leaves of the olive tree, Olea europaea, and sold as a dietary supplement. The leaves are rich in polyphenols, above all oleuropein and its relative hydroxytyrosol, which are considered the extract's main active constituents. Olive leaves have a long history in Mediterranean folk medicine, where they were brewed as a tea for fever and other complaints. Modern research, including several small clinical trials, has examined the extract mainly for effects on blood pressure, blood lipids, and blood sugar, though the overall evidence remains limited.
Red clover (Trifolium pratense) is a short-lived perennial legume in the family Fabaceae, native to Europe, western Asia, and northwest Africa and widely grown as a forage and cover crop. Its flowers are a rich source of isoflavones, plant compounds that resemble estrogen, which has made red clover a popular dietary supplement for menopausal symptoms. Evidence for its benefit on hot flashes is mixed but points to a modest effect.
Rehmannia (Rehmannia glutinosa), known in Chinese as dihuang, is a flowering plant traditionally counted among the fundamental herbs of Chinese medicine. Its root, used fresh, dried, or steam-processed, is a staple of many classical herbal formulas. Modern chemical work has identified iridoid glycosides such as catalpol among its main constituents.
Sandalwood is a class of fragrant, fine-grained wood, together with the essential oil distilled from it, obtained from hemiparasitic trees of the genus Santalum, most notably Indian sandalwood (Santalum album). Prized for a soft, warm, long-lasting woody scent, it has been used for millennia in perfumery, incense, carving, and the religious traditions of Asia. Its aroma comes chiefly from two isomers of the sesquiterpene santalol, which are also the focus of research into the oil's anti-inflammatory and other biological effects.
Sceletium tortuosum, commonly known as kanna, is a small succulent plant of the family Aizoaceae native to South Africa, traditionally chewed or fermented by the region's Khoisan peoples as a mood-altering and stress-relieving remedy. Its psychoactive effects are attributed to mesembrine-type alkaloids, chiefly mesembrine and mesembrenone, which act on serotonin transport and the enzyme phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4). A standardized extract known as Zembrin has been studied for anxiety, stress, and cognition.
Schisandra chinensis, known as magnolia berry, five-flavor berry, or wu wei zi, is a deciduous woody vine native to East Asia whose red berries have been used for centuries in traditional Chinese and Russian medicine. It is classified as an adaptogen, a plant said to help the body resist stress, and its activity is attributed to a family of dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans such as schisandrin and the gomisins. Research has focused on its liver-protective, antioxidant, and central nervous system effects.
Suma, known botanically as Hebanthe eriantha and often as Pfaffia paniculata, is a South American vine of the amaranth family whose root is used in traditional Brazilian herbal medicine. Popularly called Brazilian ginseng and nicknamed para tudo, meaning for everything, it is taken as a general tonic and adaptogen and reputed aphrodisiac. Its root contains distinctive saponins known as pfaffosides along with plant sterols, and most research to date has been in cell and animal studies rather than human trials.
Tribulus terrestris is a flowering plant in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae, widely known as puncture vine, goathead or devil's-thorn for its hard, spiny fruit. Native to warm regions of southern Eurasia and Africa and now a widespread weed, it has a long history in traditional medicine and is sold today as a dietary supplement marketed for libido, athletic performance and testosterone support. Controlled research has not consistently shown that it raises testosterone in healthy men [1].
