Eleutherococcus
Eleutherococcus senticosus; in pharmacy Eleutherococci radix
- Known today as
- Eleutherococcus senticosus, of the family Araliaceae, whose root is the medicine. The European assessment report notes that more than 35 compounds have been identified in the root and that “the search for active substances is not finished yet.”
- Kind
- Plant
- Constituents
- eleutheroside B, isofraxidin, triterpenoidal saponins, and 1 more
- In other databases
- Plants of the World Online · GBIF · Wikidata
Caution. Not for children under twelve, for want of data. Insomnia, irritability, a racing heart, and headache may occur.
Eleutherococcus: what was it used for?
A modern tonic for fatigue and weakness. It has no history in the European herbals read for this entry.
Eleutherococcus: what does modern science say?
The European Medicines Agency’s herbal committee accepts the root as a traditional herbal medicine, “exclusively based upon long-standing use,” for symptoms of asthenia such as fatigue and weakness (monograph of 2014). Its assessment report lists phenylpropanoids, among them eleutheroside B, also called syringin, at about 0.5 per cent, coumarins such as isofraxidin, triterpene saponins, lignans, and a little essential oil. No trial of the root was among the sources read for this entry.
Pharmacognosy & Toxicology
- Constituents
- eleutheroside Ba phenylpropanoid, also called syringin, about 0.5 per cent
- isofraxidina coumarin
- triterpenoidal saponinspentacyclic and tetracyclic
- lignans
- Mechanism
- Not established in the sources read for this entry.
- Standing
- European Union herbal monograph (2014): traditional use, “exclusively based upon long-standing use,” for symptoms of asthenia such as fatigue and weakness.
- European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. European Union herbal monograph on Eleutherococci radix (Eleutherococcus). EMA/HMPC/680618/2013, 25 March 2014. Read in full · the text read
- European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. Assessment report on Eleutherococci radix. EMA/HMPC/680615/2013, 25 March 2014. Read in part · the text read
Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.
Sources
- European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. European Union herbal monograph on Eleutherococci radix (Eleutherococcus). EMA/HMPC/680618/2013, 25 March 2014. Read in full · the text read
- European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. Assessment report on Eleutherococci radix. EMA/HMPC/680615/2013, 25 March 2014. Read in part · the text read
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026
- Passes
- Every sentence read against its sources, in the pass over the remaining 343 entries
- The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- Sources
- 2 cited: 1 read in full, 1 read in part.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
Club members can point at a technical term in this entry, such as a constituent, an action, or a word of Jung’s, to read its definition from the source. The Club.
Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published October 16, 2026
- Chicago
“Eleutherococcus.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified October 16, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/eleutherococcus.
- MLA
“Eleutherococcus.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 16 Oct. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/eleutherococcus. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.
- APA
Eleutherococcus. (2026, October 16). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/eleutherococcus
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See Also
Sharing lignans
Nearby in the alphabet
Elf-shot (Prehistoric flint arrowheads turned up in the fields) · Elecampane (The root of Inula helenium) · Endive (the salad plant) · Elder (Sambucus nigra) · Epiphany chalk · Echinacea · Epiphany water (in the East as the Great Blessing of the Waters at Theophany) · Earthworm (washed in wine, dried, powdered, or boiled in oil)
Historical description, not medical advice.
