Rhodiola grows in the Arctic
They call it Golden Root, a delicate yellow flower from mountain slopes in the European and Asian Arctic that has a storied reputation for boosting mood during the long dark of Siberian winters.
But the mysterious Rhodiola rosea may actually pack for more punch in its pharmacological fist.
A new study from the University of California at Irvine found Rhodiola increased the lifespan of fruit flies, suggesting that this Far North herb prized by Chinese traditional medicine might make people live longer too.
“Flies that ate a diet rich with Rhodiola rosea, an herbal supplement long used for its purported stress-relief effects, lived on an average of 10 percent longer than fly groups that didn’t eat the herb,” states an on-line story published by UCI this week.