What can you say about rhodiola in your ads and on your site?

The library supports 4 wordings for rhodiola; the strongest is “Used in herbal medicine to help temporarily relieve symptoms of stress, such as mental fatigue and a feeling of weakness” (moderate, 144-680 mg standardized extract a day). Avoid wording that names or implies a disease, a drug or a treatment, such as “Treats depression or anxiety”.

Also called: Rhodiola rosea, Roseroot, Hong jing tian

Reviewed 15 October 2026

Not legal advice. This guide shows the wording that published evidence supports at a daily dose, from the sources linked below; it is not a ruling on any claim. Your own product, its form and dose, and your own evidence still need to match the wording you use.

Supported wordings

What you can say.

Moderate evidenceWording 1

Claims Facts

“Used in herbal medicine to help temporarily relieve symptoms of stress, such as mental fatigue and a feeling of weakness.”

Daily dose	144-680 mg standardized extract a day
Support	Health Canada lists it as a herbal medicine use at 144-680 mg of standardized extract a day; no other listed source covers it.
Dose details	Adults 18 and older; at most 200 mg per dose; extract standardized to 0.8-3% salidroside and/or 1-6% rosavins. Health Canada also accepts a non-standardized ethanolic dry extract (144-400 mg a day, equal to 216-2,000 mg dried root) and a tincture (1.2-1.8 g dried root a day). Avoid taking it before bedtime.
Form	Standardized dry extract of root or root and rhizome
Source	Health Canada monograph: Rhodiola - Rhodiola rosea

Moderate evidenceWording 2

Claims Facts

“Used in herbal medicine as an adaptogen to help increase energy and resistance to stress over time, for example with mental and physical fatigue from stress.”

Daily dose	144-680 mg standardized extract a day
Support	Health Canada lists it as a herbal medicine use at 144-680 mg of standardized extract a day; no other listed source covers it.
Dose details	Adults 18 and older; at most 200 mg per dose; extract standardized to 0.8-3% salidroside and/or 1-6% rosavins. Health Canada also accepts a non-standardized ethanolic dry extract (144-400 mg a day, equal to 216-2,000 mg dried root) and a tincture (1.2-1.8 g dried root a day). Avoid taking it before bedtime.
Form	Standardized dry extract of root or root and rhizome
Source	Health Canada monograph: Rhodiola - Rhodiola rosea

Moderate evidenceWording 3

Claims Facts

“Used in herbal medicine to help support cognitive function, such as mental focus and mental stamina.”

Daily dose	144-680 mg standardized extract a day
Support	Health Canada lists it as a herbal medicine use at 144-680 mg of standardized extract a day; no other listed source covers it.
Dose details	Adults 18 and older; at most 200 mg per dose; extract standardized to 0.8-3% salidroside and/or 1-6% rosavins. Health Canada also accepts a tincture (1.2-1.8 g dried root a day), but not the non-standardized dry extract, for this use. Avoid taking it before bedtime.
Form	Standardized dry extract of root or root and rhizome
Source	Health Canada monograph: Rhodiola - Rhodiola rosea

Limited evidenceWording 4

Claims Facts

“A source of antioxidants that help protect cells against damage from free radicals.”

Daily dose	up to 680 mg standardized extract a day
Support	Health Canada sets maximum doses only; no other listed source covers it.
Dose details	Adults 18 and older; at most 200 mg per dose. Health Canada also sets maximums for a non-standardized ethanolic extract (400 mg a day, equal to 2 g dried root) and a tincture (1.8 g dried root a day), with no minimum.
Form	Standardized dry extract of root or root and rhizome
Source	Health Canada monograph: Rhodiola - Rhodiola rosea

How strong the evidence is

Strong evidence: At least two listed sources support it independently at a comparable dose and form, and none disagrees.
Moderate evidence: One listed source supports it as an evidence-based use at that dose, and no listed source disagrees.
Limited evidence: The only support is traditional use, the sources disagree, or the source itself calls the evidence weak.

Wordings to avoid

What to leave out.

Claims Facts

Ingredient: Rhodiola

Wording to avoid	Reason
“Treats depression or anxiety”Names mental health disorders. Health Canada asks people taking antidepressants to consult a practitioner first.	Disease
“A natural antidepressant”Presents the product as a replacement for a drug class.	Drug
“Treats chronic fatigue syndrome”Names a disease; the supported wording covers temporary symptoms of stress such as mental fatigue.	Disease

Disease: names or implies a disease. Drug: names a drug or presents the product as one. Treatment: promises to treat, cure or prevent a condition.

Sources

Where this comes from.

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