The definition of adaptogen was first proposed by soviet scientists in the late 1950s; these described as any substance capable of influencing both sick individuals as healthy through the “fix” of dysfunction without causing unwanted side effects, thus laying the foundation for future investigations (1).
In the 1990s, scientists Hildebert Wagner, George Wikman and Alexander Panossian carried out in-depth studies on adaptogens, refining the concept. Defined adaptogens as biorreguladores natural that enhance the ability of the organism to adapt to environmental stressors and reduce the damage caused by these factors. It was observed that the adaptogens minimize the body's response to stress, decreasing the negative reactions during the phase of alarm and mitigating or delaying the onset of the phase of exhaustion associated with the general adaptation syndrome (2).
After more than fifty years of research, the definition of adaptogen has evolved. In 1998, the Food and Drug Administration of the united States (FDA) described adaptogens as a new type of metabolic regulator that facilitates the adaptation to the environment and helps to prevent external damage, marking a shift towards the use of the term “adaptogen” in a sense, functional (3)(4).
The adaptogenic properties are found primarily in plant and fungal-specific, being adaptogens of plant origin, the most common (5). Some mushrooms contain adaptogens that help the body adapt to stressors, both internal and external, by restoring balance and regulating various biological processes (6).
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378874100001811
- https://www.scielo.br/j/rbfar/a/XH4QMTczHgcsSyxyRgsj9Mr/?lang=en
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9818799/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6240259/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0944711322004330
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9328747/
