From Proyar Laboratory we want to share with you the 1st part of an exclusive article for our clients, written by Dr. Jorge Alonso. Physician, MN 67.640, Director of the Phytomedicine postgraduate program at U.B.A. and President of the Latin American Society of Phytomedicine.

Adaptogenic Plants (Part 1)

Introduction

The study of adaptogenic plants emerged in the 1960s in the former USSR as a way to respond to stress situations, to avoid the use of psychotropic drugs. The word stress derives from the English word stress, which means tension, force, compulsion. It was invented by Prof. Hans Seyle, famous Canadian physiologist who defined it as a General Adaptation Syndrome (here this word is mentioned for the first time), that is, as a physiological response of the organism to an unplanned situation. The reaction depends on each person (individual response) since the same stress situation causes different reactions in each subject: while it may generate a nervous tensional response in most people, in others it generates pleasure or is considered a positive reaction to emerge from dejection or emotional indifference.

For conventional medicine the word stress is used to refer to physical-chemical or emotional processes that can trigger a disease. The current lifestyle, with its greater demands and high competitiveness, has increased the triggering factors to such an extent that the word stress is already common currency in everyday language. The response to stress also depends on the person's age. Recent studies indicate that a 70-year-old person has a stress tolerance that is almost 50% lower compared to a 40-year-old subject.

There are two types of stress: eustress (known as good stress) and distress (known as bad stress). Eustress is really necessary for the organism since it acts as a motor for its proper functioning. On the other hand, when the stressful situation is prolonged over time, it transforms into distress, which turns out to be negative for the individual. The factors that cause stress can be of a physical, psychic, emotional, sociocultural, behavioral or economic nature. When faced with a stressor, it is possible to observe different phases:

● Alarm phase: Prepares the body for action (sympathetic system).
● Adaptation phase: Rebalances the body toward relaxation or rest (parasympathetic system).
● Fatigue phase: When the stimulus persists, the organism fails to recover, causing the body to exhaust its fuel. Hence tiredness and physical and mental fatigue appear, having to work increasingly more to perform the same task. This originates chronic stress, conducive to the onset of disease.

Diseases and Symptoms of Stress

● Hypertension: Can overload kidney function and generate cerebrovascular accidents.
● Stomach ulcers: An increase in hydrochloric acid secretion and increased sensitivity of the stomach walls occurs, causing nausea and pain.
● Anorexia nervosa: Very common in adolescents and characterized by refusal to eat, combined with aesthetic-body distortion.
● Ulcerative colitis and enteritis: Consists of colon inflammation, which can lead to chronicity of the process.
● Asthma: Caused by emotional problems.
● Skin disorders: Hair loss, eczema, rash, etc.
● Severe mood disorders: Anxiety, depression, irritability, insomnia, panic attacks, logorrhea (talking too much), dramatization of simple events, impatience, nail biting, etc.
● Decreased immune system activity: Frequent colds, susceptibility to contagion of oropharyngeal-respiratory tract pathologies, both viral and bacterial.
Greater generation of substances called free radicals or oxidants: susceptibility to degenerative diseases (cancer, arthrosis, arteriosclerosis, etc.).
● Others: Headaches, lack of concentration, hormonal imbalances, excessive sweating, etc.

Medicinal Plants indicated for Stress:

Medicinal plants constitute a great ally when facing stress. Among them, it is worth highlighting first the species with sedative effect, many of which have been used since time immemorial: Valeriana officinalis, Passiflora spp., Tilia spp., Melisa officinalis, Humulus lupulus, Citrus aurantium, Matricaria recutita, Lavandula spp., etc.
In the case of valerian, chamomile, linden and passionflower, it has been verified that they contain flavonoids (iridoids and essential oil in the case of valerian) that act on GABA-A receptors in the same way as benzodiazepine compounds such as diazepam, bromazepam or lorazepam do. Although their effect is 5 to 10 times lower, the advantage is that they do not generate addiction or tolerance over time.
Only some precautions must be taken with valerian regarding the doses that are handled. The fact that they have lower activity than benzodiazepines constitutes an advantage: the therapeutic margin is much safer (there are practically no cases of intoxication from overdose). Likewise, many times it is only necessary to indicate a small dose of sedative in cases of nervous irritability since initiating therapy with psychotropic drugs for trivial cases constitutes one of the main drug iatrogenies. However, sedative or anxiolytic plants ARE NOT PART OF ADAPTOGENIC PLANTS, given that an adaptogenic plant, beyond improving an individual's adaptation to a negative environment, must WORK AT THE SAME TIME ON SEVERAL OTHER FACTORS, ESPECIALLY ON THE IMMUNE SYSTEM.

Adaptogenic Plants

These plants allow us to balance our organism when facing any stress situation, whether internal or coming from a negative environment. Originating from inhospitable habitats in most cases, they act as true tonics, generally improving physical and cerebral activity, recovery during convalescence, increase immune system activity, protect the liver against toxic agents and improve glucose tolerance. They are at the same time true antioxidants, contributing to improve cardiovascular system activity, since many of them act on plasma cholesterol levels, increasing HDL-cholesterol and reducing LDL-cholesterol.
One of the first researchers who spoke about adaptogenic plants was Prof. Israel. I. Brekhman, from the Academy of Sciences of the former USSR. The first studies were carried out with Panax ginseng (Korean ginseng) and with Eleutherococcus senticosus (Siberian ginseng). Brekhman and his collaborators spoke of adaptogenic remedies as those that serve to increase the non-specific resistance of the organism against external situations of diverse origin. If we analyze this definition we will understand that this goes beyond the concept of tonic plants.

Within adaptogenic plants we have:

✔ Korean Ginseng root (Panax ginseng)
✔ Echinacea root (Echinacea angustifolia, E. purpurea)
✔ Eleutherococcus root bark (Eleutherococcus senticosus)
✔ Withania root (Withania somnifera)
✔ Astragalus root (Astragalus membranaceus)
✔ Aralia root and bark (Aralia racemosa, Aralia manchurica)
✔ Schisandra fruit and seed (Schisandra chinensis)
✔ Rhodiola rosea root
✔ Andrographis paniculata whole plant.
✔ Hopea dichotoma whole plant
✔ Rhaponticum carthamoides root
✔ Purple basil leaves (Ocimum sanctum)
✔ Medicinal mushrooms (Shiitake, Maitake, Reishi, etc).

Continued in second part.