What is maral root

Maral root is also known as Rhaponticum carthamoides or Russian leuzea is a member of the Asteraceae family, is a perennial, herbaceous species naturally growing in the mountains of South Siberia, Middle Asia, and Mongolia ¹. Maral root has been used for centuries in Siberian (eastern parts of Russia) folk medicine as a stimulant, mostly in the case of overstrain and weakness after illness ². The root and rhizome extracts of Rhaponticum carthamoides possess a wide range of biological activities, including adaptogenic, antioxidant, cardioprotective, immunomodulatory, antihyperlipidemic, antihyperglycemic, and antimicrobial effects ². These pharmacological properties are attributed to the presence of a variety of secondary metabolites including triterpenoids, polyacetylenes, sesquiterpene lactones, phenolic acids, flavonoids, and ecdysteroids with 20-hydroxyecdysone as the principal component ².

Figure 1. Rhaponticum carthamoides (Maral root)

Rhaponticum carthamoides extracts from roots and rhizomes of this species are used in various dietary supplements or nutraceutical preparations to increase energy level and eliminate physical weakness or for recovery after surgery ³. Rhaponticum carthamoides is also known to have adaptogenic, immunomodulatory, anticarcinogenic, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities ⁴. The antiradical effects of the aerial part of Rhaponticum carthamoides have already been evaluated by the most common radical-scavenging assays based on 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) ⁵, 2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assays ⁶ and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) tests ⁷. The important antioxidant compounds of this plant are polyphenolic compounds such as flavonoids (e.g., quercetin, quercetagetin, luteolin, patuletin, and kaempferol) and phenolic acids (e.g., caffeic, chlorogenic, and ferulic acids and caffeoylquinic acid derivatives) ⁸.

Table 1. Bioactive compounds from maral root extracts – quantification of polyphenols and 20-hydroxyecdysone

Ecdysterones (also known as ectysterone, 20 Beta-Hydroxyecdysterone, turkesterone, ponasterone, ecdysone, or ecdystene) are naturally derived phytoecdysteroids (i.e., insect hormones) ¹⁰. They are typically extracted from the herbs Rhaponticum carthamoides, Leuza rhaptonticum sp., or Cyanotis vaga. They can also be found in high concentrations in the herb Suma (also known as Brazilian Ginseng or Pfaffia). Research from Russia and Czechoslovakia conducted over the last 30 years indicates that ecdysterones may possess some potentially beneficial physiological effects in insects and animals ¹¹. However, since most of the data on ecdysterones have been published in obscure journals, results are difficult to interpret. Wilborn and coworkers ¹² gave resistance trained males 200 mg of 20-hydroxyecdysone per day during 8-weeks of resistance training. It was reported that the 20-hydroxyecdysone supplementation had no effect on fat free mass or anabolic/catabolic hormone status ¹². Due to the findings of this well controlled study in humans, ecdysterone supplementation at a dosage of 200 mg per day appears to be ineffective in terms of improving lean muscle mass ¹⁰. While future studies may find some ergogenic value of ecdysterones, it is the view of the International Society of Sports Nutrition that it is too early to tell whether phytoecdysteroids serve as a safe and effective nutritional supplement for athletes.

The principal bioactive constituents of the whole Rhaponticum carthamoides plant are ecdysteroids, flavonoids, and phenolic acids. The aerial parts also contain sesquiterpene lactones of the guaianolide type, while the roots contain thiophene-based polyines ¹³. There have been two recent studies about antioxidant properties of Rhaponticum carthamoides. The first study dealt with the antioxidant screening of 12 medical plants and concludes that the extract of Rhaponticum carthamoides possesses high radical scavenging activity ¹⁴. The second study identifies 7 natural compounds of Rhaponticum carthamoides by means of on-line LC-DAD-SPE-NMR system. Nevertheless, incomplete evaluation of the radical scavenging or antioxidant activity of Rhaponticum carthamoides extracts or pure compounds has occured ¹⁵. The results of DPPH and FRAP tests evaluated 6-hydroxykaempferol-7-O-(6″-O-acetyl-β-D-glucopyranoside) as the most antioxidant active compound. The antioxidant activity of maral roots is currently under investigation.

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