{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}} {{About|the plant|the Bahamian island|Eleuthera|the Greek city|Eleutherae}} {{Speciesbox |image = Eleutherococcus senticosus.jpg |genus = Eleutherococcus |species = senticosus |authority = (Rupr. & Maxim.) Maxim.<ref name="grin">{{cite web|url=https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?id=1500|title=''Eleutherococcus senticosus'' (Rupr. & Maxim.) Maxim.|publisher=U.S. National Plant Germplasm System|date=13 March 2017|access-date=30 December 2017}}</ref> | synonyms = {{species list |header = Homotypic Synonyms |hidden = yes |Acanthopanax senticosus |(Rupr. & Maxim.) Harms |Hedera senticosa |Rupr. & Maxim.}} {{species list |header = Heterotypic Synonyms |hidden = yes |Acanthopanax asperatus |Franch. & Sav. |Acanthopanax senticosus var. brevistamineus |S.F.Gu |Acanthopanax senticosus f. inermis |(Kom.) Harms |Acanthopanax senticosus f. subinermis |(Regel) Harms |Acanthopanax senticosus var. subinermis |(Regel) Kitag. |Eleutherococcus asperatus |(Franch. & Sav.) Koidz. |Eleutherococcus koreanus |Nakai |Eleutherococcus senticosus f. inermis |Kom. |Eleutherococcus senticosus f. subinermis |Regel}} |synonyms_ref =<ref name=POWO/><ref name="grin"/> }} thumb|right|''Eleutherococcus senticosus'' leaves
'''''Eleutherococcus senticosus''''' is a species of small, woody shrub in the family Araliaceae.<ref name=POWO>{{cite taxon |POWO |id=90431-1 |title=''Eleutherococcus senticosus'' (Rupr. & Maxim.) Maxim. |access-date=February 26, 2026}}</ref><ref name=COL>{{Catalogue of Life |id=398XR |title=''Eleutherococcus senticosus'' (Rupr. & Maxim.) Maxim. |access-date=February 26, 2026}}</ref> It is native to Northeastern Asia.<ref name=grin/><ref name="who">{{cite web|url=http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Js4927e/10.html#Js4927e.10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616125010/http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Js4927e/10.html#Js4927e.10|archive-date=June 16, 2009|title=Radix Eleutherococci|publisher=Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants, Volume 2, World Health Organization|access-date=30 December 2017}}</ref> It may be colloquially called '''devil's bush''',<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Lee |editor1-first=Sangtae |editor2-last=Chang |editor2-first=Kae Sun |title=English Names for Korean Native Plants |year=2015 |publisher=Korea National Arboretum |location=Pocheon |isbn=978-89-97450-98-5 |page=454 |url=http://www.forest.go.kr/kna/special/download/English_Names_for_Korean_Native_Plants.pdf |access-date=7 March 2019 |via=Korea Forest Service}}</ref> '''Siberian ginseng''', '''taiga root''',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286391506_Eleutherococcus_senticosus_The_source_of_the_Taiga_root|title=''Eleutherococcus senticosus: The source of the Taiga root'' (G. Willuhn)|publisher=ResearchGate|date=January 2003|access-date=24 August 2024}}</ref> '''eleuthero''', ''ciwujia'', ''Devil's shrub'', ''shigoka'', ''touch-me-not'', ''wild pepper'', or ''kan jang''.<ref name="drugs">{{cite web|url=https://www.drugs.com/npc/eleutherococcus.html|title=Eleutherococcus|publisher=Drugs.com|date=2017|access-date=30 December 2017}}</ref> ''E. senticosus'' has a history of use in folklore and traditional Chinese medicine.<ref name="grin"/> Root extracts of ''E. senticosus'' are sold as a dietary supplement or cosmetic, usually under the name ''Siberian ginseng''.<ref name=who/>
==Etymology== The scientific name (genus), ''Eleutherococcus'' (from Greek) means "free-berried," and ''senticosus'', (from Latin) means ''sentis'' (thorn-bush, briar), an adjective meaning "thorny" or "full of briers or thorns."{{citation needed|date=December 2017}} It is not the same plant as American ginseng (''Panax quinquefolius'') or Asian ginseng (''Panax ginseng''). It has a diversity of common names across its range of distribution.<ref name=grin/><ref name=who/>
==Distribution and habitat== The herb grows in mixed and coniferous mountain forests, forming low undergrowth or is found in groups in thickets and edges. ''Eleutherococcus senticosus'' is sometimes found in oak groves at the foot of cliffs, rarely in high forest riparian woodland. Its native habitat is East Asia, China, Japan, and Russia.<ref name=grin/><ref name=who/> ''E. senticosus'' is broadly tolerant of soils, growing in sandy, loamy, and heavy clay soils with acid, neutral, or alkaline chemistry and including soils of low nutritional value. It can tolerate sun or dappled shade and some degree of pollution. ''E. senticosus'' is a deciduous shrub growing to {{convert|2|m|ft}} at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 3. It flowers in July in most habitats. The flowers are hermaphroditic and are pollinated by insects.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Eleutherococcus+senticosus|title=''Eleutherococcus senticosus''|publisher=Plants for a Future|access-date=2013-01-16}}</ref>
==Extract and chemical constituents== Roots of ''E. senticosus'' are cylindrical, up to {{convert|0.5|cm|in}} in diameter, straight or branched, dark brown, and have a smooth surface with bark fixed closely to the xylem.<ref name=who/> The derived extract from the roots has been characterized for its major constituents, including lignans, sesamin (eleutheroside B4), syringaresinol, phenylpropanes, coumarins, beta-sitosterol and daucosterol.<ref name=who/>
Berries from ''E. senticosus'' contain diverse polyphenols, including caffeic acid, vanillic acid, ferulic acid, p-coumaric acid, and benzoic acid, with significant content of calcium, magnesium, and potassium.<ref>{{cite journal|pmc=5098108|year=2016|last1=Załuski|first1=D|title=Phytochemical Content and Pharma-Nutrition Study on ''Eleutherococcus senticosus'' Fruits Intractum|journal=Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity|volume=2016|article-number=9270691|last2=Olech|first2=M|last3=Galanty|first3=A|last4=Verpoorte|first4=R|last5=Kuźniewski|first5=R|last6=Nowak|first6=R|last7=Bogucka-Kocka|first7=A|doi=10.1155/2016/9270691|pmid=27843534|doi-access=free}}</ref>
Major constituents of essential oil from leaves of ''Eleutherococcus senticosus'' include α-bisabolol (26%), β-caryophyllene (7%), germacrene D (7%), β-bisabolene (5%), and α-humulene (4%).<ref>{{cite journal|pmid=28399215|year=2017|last1=Zhai|first1=C|title=''Eleutherococcus senticosus'' (Araliaceae) Leaf Morpho-Anatomy, Essential Oil Composition, and Its Biological Activity Against Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)|journal=Journal of Medical Entomology|volume=54|issue=3|pages=658–669|last2=Wang|first2=M|last3=Raman|first3=V|last4=Rehman|first4=J U|last5=Meng|first5=Y|last6=Zhao|first6=J|last7=Avula|first7=B|last8=Wang|first8=Y H|last9=Tian|first9=Z|last10=Khan|first10=IA|doi=10.1093/jme/tjw221|s2cid=43732277}}</ref>
==Traditional medicine==
Extracts from the root of ''Eleutherococcus senticosus'', including eleutherosides, are promoted in alternative and traditional medicine for providing health effects, (the clinical evidence previously cited here has been archived and the links are defunct.) According to the WHO, only use "as a prophylactic and restorative tonic for enhancement of mental and physical capacities in cases of weakness, exhaustion and tiredness, and during convalescence" is backed up by clinical evidence.<ref name=who/><ref name=acs>{{cite book |publisher=American Cancer Society |title=American Cancer Society Complete Guide to Complementary and Alternative Cancer Therapies |edition=2nd |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-944235-71-3 |editor=Ades TB |pages=[https://archive.org/details/americancancerso0000unse/page/337 337–339] |chapter=Eleuthero |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/americancancerso0000unse/page/337 }}</ref> The plant has been assessed in preliminary research for its potential use as an antimicrobial or antistress agent.<ref name=who/><ref name=drugs/>
===Potential for adverse effects=== People with high blood pressure, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, heart disease, mental illness, a compromised immune system, people in the processes of pregnancy and lactation, and people taking digoxin or hexobarbital may have adverse reactions to ''E. senticosus''.<ref name=drugs/> High doses may cause irritability, confusion, insomnia, or anxiety.<ref name=drugs/>
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== * [http://www.plantsystematics.org/cgi-bin/dol/dol_terminal.pl?taxon_name=Eleutherococcus_senticosus ''Eleutherococcus senticosus'' Photos (PlantSystematics.org)]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q894245}} {{Authority control}}
senticosus Category:Antidepressants Category:Herbs Category:Medicinal plants Category:Flora of China Category:Flora of Japan Category:Flora of Korea Category:Flora of Siberia Category:Taxa named by Karl Maximovich Category:Taxa named by Franz Josef Ruprecht