Eleuthero and medications.

Eleuthero, sometimes called Siberian ginseng, is widely sold as an adaptogen for fatigue, endurance and stress. We do not recommend it for any goal, and the reason is the evidence rather than a safety concern. The only randomised trial we cite in unexplained fatigue, in 96 people, states in its own conclusion that overall efficacy was not shown; its single positive result is a smaller subgroup that the authors themselves flag as unadjusted for multiple comparisons. For exercise, the two indexed human trials enrolled nine people each and disagree: one found better endurance, one found no difference in cycling performance. The remaining source usually quoted is a review article written from a manufacturer's own research arm, and a frequently cited burnout trial tested a four-ingredient formula, so nothing in it can be credited to eleuthero alone. That is not enough to put in front of someone who is paying for a recommendation, so we say so rather than list it and hope. It stays on this page because what it does alongside certain drugs is still worth knowing. The dose you will see on labels is 300 to 1,200mg a day of standardised extract, taken in the morning because it can disturb sleep later on. A few interactions deserve attention. There are case reports of eleuthero raising digoxin levels, so it should be flagged for anyone on that drug. It has mild reported platelet effects worth a GP note alongside anticoagulants, and it stacks additively with caffeine and other stimulants. It may modestly raise blood pressure, so flag it if hypertension is not controlled, and use caution with hormone-sensitive conditions given mild oestrogenic activity.