History of the Adaptogen Concept: Lazarev, Brekhman and Soviet Research

Information only. This page is about the history of an idea. It does not say any herb treats a condition. Several herbs later grouped as adaptogens have documented cautions with medicines, pregnancy, surgery and the liver: see how medicine interactions work and ask a pharmacist or clinician before using one.

The one-sentence version

"Adaptogen" is a 20th-century word created in Soviet research for substances said to raise the body's non-specific resistance to stress. The plants it was applied to had been used in other medical traditions long before, and the word itself has been redefined several times. [1][2]

Traditional use is a separate story

Ginseng, ashwagandha and others have their own long histories in Chinese, Ayurvedic and other traditions. NCCIH, for example, says Asian ginseng has been used as a calming agent in traditional Chinese medicine and as an adaptogen, and that ashwagandha has been used as a medicinal plant for thousands of years, especially in traditional Ayurveda. [3][4] Those traditions did not use the word "adaptogen". It was applied to these plants later, from outside. Read about them in their own terms in ashwagandha in Ayurveda and ginseng in Chinese medicine. This page covers only the Soviet and later research history of the word.

Who said what, and when

Sources do not agree on the dates. That matters if you see a confident date on a product page.

We cannot settle which date is right from these sources alone. A fair summary is "the mid-20th century, in the USSR, associated with Lazarev."

Brekhman and the ginseng group

I. Brekhman, a Soviet scientist, studied ginseng from about 1950 according to one review. [5] A review of the Soviet literature reports that in the early 1950s Soviet researchers pioneered the study of ginseng and some other plants of the "ginseng group." [8] It adds that because ginseng was rare, it was impractical for mass production of medicines, so researchers shifted to related plants, and four plants were studied and introduced into therapeutic practice between 1955 and 1964. [8]

Two things in that account are worth noticing. First, the research was driven partly by supply: a rare root pushed scientists toward other plants, one of which is eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus, with the older synonym Acanthopanax senticosus). [8][9] For why sourcing still matters today, see regulation and conservation. Second, other plants entered official Soviet medicine on the strength of the same research program: Schisandra chinensis first gained recognition as an adaptogen in the official medicine of the USSR in the early 1960s. [10]

How the definition changed

The wording of the definition shifted over time:

• Lazarev's idea: a substance that increases non-specific resistance to adverse influences. [2]
• Brekhman's characteristics (as cited by the EMA, 1968): an adaptogen is almost non-toxic to the recipient. [2] A 2018 review describes later criteria from Brekhman and Dardymov (1969) that adaptogens must not harm the body and, unlike stimulants, must not cause side effects such as insomnia. [5]
• Contrast with stimulants: the EMA paper notes that stimulants cause a temporary increase in work capacity followed by a decrease, while adaptogens were reputed to cause an increase that is not followed by a decrease. [2]
• 1990s: a group of researchers proposed that adaptogens are natural bioregulators that increase the ability to adapt to environmental factors. [5]
• Today: one review says "adaptogen" has generally been used as a functional term. [5]

The word also spread beyond plants. A 2021 review describes synthetic "adaptogens" such as bemethyl, introduced in the 1970s, and notes that since 2009 the World Anti-Doping Agency has listed bromantane as prohibited. [1] That is a reminder that the word was never limited to herbs. For athletes today, see adaptogens for athletes and doping rules.

Which plants count?

Even lists of "true" adaptogens differ. One 2018 review says studies have confirmed Panax ginseng, Schisandra chinensis and others as true adaptogens, and includes maca (Lepidium meyenii) in its list. [5] A 2023 review of adaptogens for depression found St. John's wort the most studied adaptogen in its set. [11] Treat any list as one author's judgment. This library classifies each plant on its own page. See what are adaptogens.