SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Pharmacol.

Sec. Ethnopharmacology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1595953

Efficacy and safety of Rhodiola crenulata extract in the treatment of high altitude disease, based on studies involving populations in China: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Provisionally accepted
Zixuan GaoZixuan Gao1Yaoyuan LiuYaoyuan Liu1Weiwen LiaoWeiwen Liao1Wenting SongWenting Song1Xinyi ZhangXinyi Zhang2Hanqing LinHanqing Lin2Han ZhangHan Zhang1Tao ZhangTao Zhang1*Wentai PangWentai Pang1*
  • 1Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China
  • 2First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Chinese Medicine Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Tianjin, China

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Introduction: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Rhodiola crenulata extract (RCE) for the treatment of patients with acute high altitude disease (AHAD).Methods: This study systematically retrieved randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published prior to September 2024 from eight distinct databases. It included AHAD patients, with the control group receiving either conventional western medicine (WM) or placebo, and the experimental group receiving RCE alone or in conjunction with WM. The primary outcomes were arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) and arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2). The secondary outcomes were total clinical efficacy, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and heart rate (HR). Adverse events incidence was analyzed to assess safety. The meta-analysis was performed with Review Manager 5.4, and the evidence's certainty was assessed using the GRADE approach.Results: This study included 19 eligible RCTs with 1,690 participants. In improving SaO2, PaO2 and total clinical efficacy, no significant differences were found between RCE and WM, but RCE was more effective than placebo. RCE showed no significant effect in reducing SBP, DBP and HR. Regarding safety, the experimental group demonstrated superior performance compared to the control group.Conclusions: RCE may enhance blood oxygen levels and mitigate clinical symptoms in the treatment of AHAD with favorable safety. Nonetheless, it is imperative to undertake further rigorous RCTs to validate these findings.

Keywords: Rhodiola rosea, Roseroot, Altitude Sickness, acute mountain sickness, AMS

Received: 18 Mar 2025; Accepted: 21 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Gao, Liu, Liao, Song, Zhang, Lin, Zhang, Zhang and Pang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Tao Zhang, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China
Wentai Pang, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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