Rhodiola rosea

The genus Rhodiola (Family Crassulaceae) is indigenous to Northern Canada, Europe and Asia where its rhizomes and roots have been used for centuries for medicinal purposes. Recent interest in the species Rhodiola rosea (roseroot) in the West arose from the use of the rhizome as an adaptogen for the treatment of stress, but in the last few years, chemical and pharmacological studies have confirmed other valuable medicinal properties. Written by well-known researchers in this field of study, Rhodiola rosea examines important aspects of this increasingly important medicinal plant, including: CultivationTaxonomyEthnobotany Conservation PhytopathologyPhytochemistryPharmacologyBiotechnology The book discusses in vitro culture of R. rosea and examines pests and diseases affecting the plant in Europe, Canada, and Alaska. It also examines pharmacological bioassays and toxicology. The contributors provide a meta-analysis of clinical trials and describe experimentation with R. rosea in clinical practice. They explore its use in a range of areas, including for depression and anxiety disorders, to improve sexual and immune functions, to augment cancer treatment, and in aerospace medicine for afflictions such as mountain sickness and jet lag. The final chapter uses a model to illustrate the cultivation of R. rosea as an industrial crop from field to medicine to cabinet. Synthesizing the most important literature in recent years, the book supplies a comprehensive peer-reviewed survey of the wide spectrum of possibilities for its use as a modern phytomedicinal agent.

Dr. Kwesi Ampong-Nyarko is a research scientist at Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development in Canada. He earned his PhD in agricultural botany from the University of Reading, England. Dr. Ampong-Nyarko spent years 2004–2010 in developing the technology for growing Rhodiola rosea and made great strides in popularizing and laying the foundation for its cultivation and commercialization in Alberta. He has a multidisciplinary background with demonstrated expertise in crop production, weed science, and international agriculture development. His current research focus is on crop diversification in the field and greenhouse crops. Dr. Alain Cuerrier, researcher at the Montreal Botanical Garden and writer, earned his PhD in plant systematics (University of Montreal with one year at Harvard University) before switching to ethnobotany in 2001. He participated in the creation of the First Nations Garden in Montreal as well as in Laquenexy, France. Since then, he has started ethnobotanical and ethnoecological projects with the Inuit, Innu, Naskapi, and Cree people. He is the president of the International Society of Ethnobiology. Dr. Cuerrier has published several books on plant uses by First Nations and Inuit of Canada.