The word "adaptogen" sounds like it belongs to the present moment, printed on tea packaging, mentioned in wellness newsletters, and attached to mushroom powders and tinctures marketed as antidotes to modern stress. But the concept is older than the marketing suggests, and its actual origin story runs through Cold War-era Soviet pharmacology, not a contemporary wellness brand. Understanding where the term came from, and what current science can and cannot say about it, offers a more grounded way into a category of plants that have, in various forms, been used across cultures for centuries.
The Soviet Origins of a Modern Word
The term "adaptogen" was coined in 1947 by Soviet toxicologist Nikolai Lazarev, though the concept gained its most significant research momentum through the work of pharmacologist Israel Brekhman and his colleague I.V. Dardymov in the following decades. Their research, conducted largely at Soviet scientific institutions, was driven by a specific practical goal: identifying natural compounds that could help soldiers, athletes, and laborers withstand extreme physical and environmental stress, including cold, exhaustion, and altitude, without the side effects associated with stimulant drugs.
Brekhman and Dardymov's foundational 1969 paper, published in the Annual Review of Pharmacology, proposed a formal definition. An adaptogen should be a substance that is safe and non-toxic at normal doses, produces a nonspecific response that increases resistance to a wide range of stressors (physical, chemical, or biological), and helps normalize physiological function regardless of the direction of change. In other words, it should help lower what's too high and raise what's too low, rather than pushing the body in a single fixed direction.
This last criterion, nonspecific, bidirectional normalization, is what conceptually distinguishes an adaptogen from a stimulant. A stimulant like caffeine reliably pushes alertness in one direction. An adaptogen, by definition, is theorized to help the body return toward equilibrium, whatever direction it's currently out of balance.
Much of this early Soviet research was conducted with military and industrial applications in mind and was not always subject to the peer-review standards expected in Western pharmacological research today. That is an important caveat when evaluating some of the foundational claims.
Older Roots: Rasayana and Fu Zheng
While the term "adaptogen" is mid-twentieth century, the underlying idea, that certain plants can build the body's general resilience over time rather than treating a specific symptom, has much older lineages in traditional medicine systems.
In Ayurveda, the traditional medicine system of the Indian subcontinent with textual roots dating back over two thousand years, the concept of rasayana describes a category of substances and practices intended to promote longevity, vitality, and resistance to disease. Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), one of the most widely studied adaptogenic herbs today, has been used within rasayana practice for centuries and is described in classical Ayurvedic texts as a rejuvenating tonic.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, a related concept known as fu zheng ("supporting the correct") describes herbs used to strengthen the body's underlying constitution and resistance to illness, rather than targeting a specific ailment directly. Astragalus root and Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng), another herb now commonly labeled an adaptogen in Western contexts, have long histories within this framework.
It's worth being careful here. Mapping a modern pharmacological category like "adaptogen" directly onto centuries-old traditional frameworks like rasayana or fu zheng risks flattening real differences in how these systems understood the body and illness. They were not simply pre-scientific versions of the same idea. But the shared intuition, that some plants support broad resilience rather than acting on a single symptom, clearly predates Soviet pharmacology by a long margin, even if the specific term does not.
What Current Research Actually Shows
Adaptogens have become one of the more actively studied categories in botanical medicine over the past two decades, and the picture that emerges from the research is genuinely mixed. It is more promising than dismissive, but well short of settled.
Ashwagandha has the strongest evidence base among commonly used adaptogens. Multiple randomized controlled trials, including a widely cited 2019 study published in Medicine, have found associations between ashwagandha supplementation and reduced self-reported stress and cortisol levels compared to placebo. A number of systematic reviews have found the evidence promising but continue to call for larger, longer-duration trials with more standardized dosing, as study quality and ashwagandha extract concentrations vary considerably across the existing research.
Rhodiola rosea, a plant traditionally used in Scandinavian and Russian folk medicine and heavily studied during the Soviet-era adaptogen research program, has shown some evidence in clinical trials of reducing fatigue-related symptoms under stress. Even so, sample sizes in many studies remain relatively small.
Panax ginseng has one of the longest research histories of any adaptogenic herb, with mixed findings on cognitive and energy-related outcomes. A 2010 Cochrane-affiliated systematic review noted methodological weaknesses across much of the existing ginseng research base and urged caution in interpreting positive findings.
Across the category, a consistent theme in recent reviews, including a 2021 overview published in Pharmaceuticals, is that while adaptogens show biologically plausible mechanisms and generally favorable safety profiles at normal doses, the human clinical evidence remains an active and incomplete area of research. Claims of broad stress-resistance benefits should therefore be treated as promising hypotheses rather than settled fact.
A Word About Safety and Context
Because adaptogens are widely available as over-the-counter supplements, it is important to approach them with curiosity while also considering the limitations of current research. Herbal supplements are not regulated with the same level of oversight as pharmaceutical drugs in many countries, meaning product quality, dosage accuracy, and purity can vary significantly between brands. Some adaptogenic herbs may also interact with medications. Ashwagandha, for example, may interact with thyroid medications and sedatives, while ginseng has documented interactions with blood thinners. Anyone considering adaptogenic herbs, particularly alongside existing medications or health conditions, should consult a healthcare professional rather than relying solely on marketing claims.
The same principle of thoughtful evaluation applies to skincare. Just as adaptogenic traditions emphasize balance rather than simply adding more, a mindful skincare approach focuses on understanding ingredients, choosing formulas with intention, and supporting the skin’s natural processes rather than overwhelming them.
HAOMA’s Deep Cream reflects this philosophy by creating a nourishing skincare ritual centered around comfort, balance, and resilience, reminding us that caring for the skin is not about forcing change, but about providing the conditions for it to thrive.
Why the Concept Endures
Setting aside specific clinical claims, there is something enduringly appealing about the underlying premise of adaptogens: the idea that resilience, the ability to respond to stress and changing conditions, can be gradually supported rather than treated as a fixed state. This idea resonates across different traditions, from Soviet pharmacology to Ayurvedic rasayana and Chinese fu zheng, because it reflects a universal desire for steadiness and balance.
This philosophy extends naturally into skincare. Rather than forcing change, thoughtful botanical skincare focuses on supporting the skin’s natural processes through intentional rituals. HAOMA’s Night Cream reflects this approach by creating a slower evening ritual centered around nourishment, rest, and consistency. Like adaptogenic traditions that value balance and harmony, mindful skincare recognizes that resilience is built through patience and care over time.
Whether any single herb delivers on that promise to the degree modern marketing suggests is a separate, and still unfolding, scientific question. But the underlying idea, cultivated across very different medical traditions, independently, over very long stretches of time, reflects a shared and enduring observation: that some plants seem to help the body meet difficulty without being undone by it.