Maral Root (Rhaponticum)

Also called Rhaponticum carthamoides, Leuzea carthamoides, Russian leuzea, leuzea, maral root extract.

Best grade D across 1 graded outcome Botanical Last checked

The short answer

From 5 sources

Maral root, or Russian leuzea, is a perennial herb rich in ecdysteroids such as ecdysterone and long used by Soviet and Russian athletes. Human evidence in our sources is one modern 30-man trial of a maral root and rhodiola blend, which found no effect on muscle fatigue. No agency has reviewed its safety.

Every graded outcome on this page

1 row · line = participants
  1. Grade DMuscle fatigue during repeated maximal leg extensionsFatiguen 30

Key facts

What it is
Rhaponticum carthamoides, a perennial herb known as maral root or Russian leuzea, used for centuries in eastern Russia1
Main compounds
Steroids, particularly ecdysteroids such as ecdysterone, plus flavonoids and phenolic acids15
Human trial
In 30 men, single 175 mg or 350 mg doses of a 70:30 maral root and rhodiola blend did not change leg-extension fatigue, perceived exertion or mood vs placebo2
Animal data
In rats, maral root extract given after resistance exercise increased muscle protein synthesis and, over 4 weeks, mean power; the study was funded by extract maker Naturex4
Athletic use
Maral root has been commonly used by elite Soviet and Russian athletes for its claimed strength-building and adaptogenic properties4
Agency safety reviews
No ODS, NCCIH, LactMed, LiverTox, Health Canada or EMA source covers maral root3

What it is

Maral root (Rhaponticum carthamoides, Russian leuzea) is a perennial herb used for centuries in eastern Russia and rich in ecdysteroids.

How it works

Proposed

Maral root's ecdysteroids, such as ecdysterone, are the compounds most often linked to its claimed effects on strength and work capacity. In rats an extract given after resistance exercise raised muscle protein synthesis, but this has not been shown in people.145

Forms, side by side

2 forms named in our sources. The rest show what our data holds, and say plainly where it holds nothing yet.

Maral Root (Rhaponticum) forms compared

2 forms
Maral Root (Rhaponticum) forms compared: 2 forms by 3 attributes. Empty cells are labelled No data yet, or Not graded in the evidence row.
2 formsMaral root + rhodiola extract blendRoot powder, tincture or extract
Absorption in peopleNo human absorption data in our sources.2No human absorption data in our sources.1
GI toleranceThe trial abstract does not report adverse events.2No modern human trial of maral root alone in our sources.1
Studied forAcute muscle fatigue (no effect)Traditional and athletic use; no single-ingredient human trial in our sources
  1. Maral root + rhodiola extract blend
    Absorption in people
    No human absorption data in our sources.2
    GI tolerance
    The trial abstract does not report adverse events.2
    Studied for
    Acute muscle fatigue (no effect)
  2. Root powder, tincture or extract
    Absorption in people
    No human absorption data in our sources.1
    GI tolerance
    No modern human trial of maral root alone in our sources.1
    Studied for
    Traditional and athletic use; no single-ingredient human trial in our sources
Every cell holds data from a cited page; citation numbers link to the page that holds them.Scroll the table for every column

What the human research says

Human trials only, one row per outcome. The form line shows what each trial actually tested. Grades follow our evidence-grading policy.

Trial map

1 graded outcome, largest study first

One graded outcome so far. Muscle fatigue during repeated maximal leg extensions: a 2021 crossover trial of 30 people found no effect.

Bar: the ages a study enrolled (running to the edge when it states no upper or lower limit). Dot: only a mean age, counted as near your age within 5 years. Tick: the mean age inside a range.

1Muscle fatigue during repeated maximal leg extensions: no effect, mean age 22.3

1. Muscle fatigue during repeated maximal leg extensions: no effect, 30 people1

1Muscle fatigue during repeated maximal leg extensions

No effect · Grade D · Crossover RCT, 30 people, 2021

Men (mean age 22.3 years)

Dose, result and source
Every graded outcome on this page, largest study first
OutcomeFoundPeopleStudyWho was studied
Muscle fatigue during repeated maximal leg extensionsNo effect30Grade D · Crossover RCT, 2021Men (mean age 22.3 years)
Each circle is one graded outcome on this page, numbered from the largest study down, and placed by how many people it studied (log scale). By age shows the ages each study enrolled, where it states them. It shows who was studied and what was found, not advice about your dose.

Every graded row

1 row
Grade DMuscle fatigue during repeated maximal leg extensionsFatigueNo effectCrossover RCT
n 30 · 2021

No effect Neither dose changed peak torque, average torque, total work or perceived exertion across five sets of 30 maximal leg extensions compared with placebo (treatment effect p >= 0.660), and feeling, arousal and mood responses did not differ.

Design
Crossover RCT, n = 30, 2021
Population
Men (mean age 22.3 years)
Form
Blend of Rhaponticum carthamoides and Rhodiola rosea extracts (70:30)
Dose
Single 350 mg dose, or 175 mg plus 175 mg maltodextrin
Duration
Single dose, 90 minutes before testing
Source
Reference 2 · PubMed 32723193 (opens PubMed)

What the numbers add up to

Each point is worked out from the data and the sources numbered on this page, with the arithmetic shown under it. It adds no new data and is not medical advice.

Reputation ahead of evidence

Maral root's strength reputation rests on Soviet-era athletic use and rat data; the one modern human trial in our sources, a two-herb blend, found no effect on fatigue.24

How we got this: Background and results of the cited rat study and human trial

Studied doses

Doses used in research, shown against the official limits. They describe the studies, not a recommendation for you.

Studied doses in research, not advice. These are amounts used in research, not personal advice. Your clinician or pharmacist can say what fits you.

Doses studied in human trials

Doses studied in human trials ranged from a single 175 mg to a single 350 mg dose of a 70:30 maral root and rhodiola extract blend; no trial in our sources gave maral root alone.2

Interactions and safety

Published interactions only: each row cites a source. No row means none was found in our sources, not that a combination is safe.

What Maral Root meets

0 cited rows 1 tested together

Medicines 0

No medicine rows in our sources.

Maral Root0 medicines · 1 supplement

Supplements and foods 1

  • Tested together in a graded trial
Also cited: 1 tested together

  1. Rhodiola roseaRhodiola rosea page

    • Tested together

      Muscle fatigue during repeated maximal leg extensions. Graded on the Maral Root page; tested together is not a claim that they work better together.

Rows as our evidence profiles cite them; links stay on this site. Line weight shows what backs a row, not how serious an interaction is. No line means none was found in our sources, not that a combination is safe. Not medical advice: ask your pharmacist.

Interactions

0 agents

None found in our sources.

Check with what you take

Kept on this device only

Add what you take. We list every interaction our evidence profiles cite between Maral Root and your picks, and between your picks.

Most cited:

Add a supplement or medicine you take to check it against Maral Root.

Starting from one medicine? The interaction checker rates how serious each pair is, on a curated list of 19 entries for 11 medicines. This cabinet has no severity rating: it lists every interaction row our supplement pages cite.

Not medical advice, and no dosing advice. An empty result means no row we cite names that pair, by name or through a drug class we can link the medicine to, not that a combination is safe. Where our sources name only a group of medicines we cannot match, the cabinet says so. Ask your pharmacist before you combine supplements and medicines.

Who should be careful

4 groups
Related compounds
No ODS, NCCIH, LactMed, LiverTox, Health Canada or EMA source covers maral root. It is a source of ecdysterone, which has its own page.35
People on medicines
No published drug or supplement interaction for maral root was found, and no agency monograph covers it, so interaction data are lacking rather than reassuring. NCCIH notes that dietary supplements may interact with medications and advises telling your health care providers about any supplement you use.3
Pregnancy, breastfeeding and children
No trial in our sources studied these groups, and NCCIH notes that many dietary supplements have not been tested in pregnant women, nursing mothers or children.3
Before surgery
NCCIH advises telling your health care providers about all supplements well before an operation.3
Talk to your pharmacist or clinician before starting a supplement, especially if you take prescription medicines.

How to read the label

What to check on the Supplement Facts panel.

How to read the label

2 checks
Blend or single herb

The only human trial used a 70:30 blend with rhodiola, so its result does not describe maral root alone.2

Ecdysteroid content

Maral root is one plant source of ecdysterone; ecdysterone products are not the same as whole maral root.5

Have the bottle? Photograph its Supplement Facts panel and see each line, maral root (rhaponticum) included, beside the doses and forms the trials used in Label X-Ray.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to common questions; the numbers link to the sources below.

Common questions

6 answers
Does maral root build muscle or strength?

Not shown in people. A rat study found more muscle protein synthesis after exercise, but a 30-man trial of a maral root and rhodiola blend found no effect on muscle fatigue.24

Is maral root safe?

No agency has reviewed its safety, and the one human trial abstract does not report side effects. NCCIH notes supplements may interact with medications.23

How much maral root was studied?

The only human trial in our sources used single doses: 175 mg or 350 mg of a 70:30 maral root and rhodiola extract blend, given 90 minutes before testing. No human trial in our sources gave maral root alone or for weeks at a time.2

Does maral root interact with medicines?

No interaction has been published, but it has hardly been studied in people and no agency monograph covers it. NCCIH notes that supplements may interact with medications.3

Is maral root the same as ecdysterone?

No. Maral root is a plant; ecdysterone is one of the ecdysteroids it contains. Ecdysteroids also occur in spinach and quinoa.15

What is maral root?

Rhaponticum carthamoides, also called Russian leuzea, a perennial herb used for centuries in eastern Russia. It is rich in ecdysteroids.1

Sources

5 sources: trial abstracts, NIH fact sheets and reference databases. Numbers in the text link here.

Sources cited on this page

5 sources
  1. 1Chemistry and pharmacology of Rhaponticum carthamoides: a review.Review Phytochemistry, 2009 · PMID 19457517
  2. 2The Acute Effects of a Multi-Ingredient Herbal Supplement on Performance Fatigability: A Double-Blind, Randomized, and Placebo-Controlled Trial.Crossover RCT J Diet Suppl, 2021 · PMID 32723193
  3. 3Using Dietary Supplements WiselyFact sheet National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), 2019 · nccih.nih.gov
  4. 4Acute and chronic effects of Rhaponticum carthamoides and Rhodiola rosea extracts supplementation coupled to resistance exercise on muscle protein synthesis and mechanical power in rats.Animal study J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2020 · PMID 33198764
  5. 5Ecdysterone and Turkesterone-Compounds with Prominent Potential in Sport and Healthy Nutrition.Review Nutrients, 2024 · PMID 38732627

What changed

Every dated change to this page: what changed, who made it and why.

Change log

2 entries
Dated changes to this page
DateChangeWho and why
who should be careful, faqAdded FAQs on the studied dose and on interactions, and stated in the medicines note that no published interaction data exist. PubMed search through 2026 found no further human trial of maral root, so the evidence table is unchanged. Fact-checked against the sources; corrected: the dose FAQ now says only the human trial used single doses, since a cited rat study gave maral root alone for 4 weeks.Writer: Kymata Health EditorialTrigger: A–Z page audit
allInitial editorial evidence review. Every PMID checked against NCBI E-utilities esummary (title and year) and each cited abstract read; numbers taken from the abstracts (and, where noted, the full text for funding, product and participant details). Funding disclosed: the rat study was funded by Naturex (extract maker); the human trial states no funding in its abstract. Older Russian-language athlete studies were not used because their abstracts give no participant numbers or controls. No agency source covers maral root, so safety text cites NCCIH's Using Dietary Supplements Wisely. Where to buy: we didn’t list a product; none of the stores we checked had a suitable one.Writer: Kymata Health EditorialTrigger: new page

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