rhodiola

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You need to first determine the species of rhodiola. here is some

info from medline

Si Lie Hong Jing Tian" (Shiretsukoukeiten in Japanese) - Rhodiola

quadrifida used in china and japan, appears to be mainly antiallergic;

most such herbs have a good safety profile; couldn't find TCM info, but

perhaps with this chinese name, someone else could, like Philipe Riviere

"Rhodiocyanosides A and B exhibited inhibitory activity on the histamine

release from rat peritoneal exudate cells

sensitized with anti-2,4-dinitrophenyl

IgE. Additionally, rhodiocyanoside A, the major constituent of this natural

medicine,

was also found to show antiallergic

activity in a passive cutaneous anaphylaxis test in rat. "

Rhodiola rosea may be the one used; it is an ayurvedic rasayana (sorry,

don't know the sanskrit); it has been researched for adaptogenic and antiischemic

properties. Seems safe and effective when used as intended, like

salvia, perhaps.

I bet this product is fairly safe, especially compared to steroids,

creatinine and such things, but I would not recommend this type of use

without doing a TCM eval of each user. Some might benefit from this

formula, but not if they are xu types. It also makes me think of

advice I got form my tai ji teachers and chinese professors about excessive

vigorous activity that is propped up with herbs or other substances.

Basically, it exhausts your essence and shortens your life. According

to my teachers, yang style martial artists in china have always been notoriously

short lived, as are professional athletes as a group today. The most

extreme example is the severe damage done to themselves by so-called modern

"fitness" enthusiasts who end up with liver damage, etc. So it is

important to distinguish between enabling someone to enjoy themselves as

they see fit at the overall expense to their health or actually promoting

their well being. It is an interesting ethical debate and my personal

predilection is to provide the patient with information and let them decide

for themselves.