Holy Basil vs Rhodiola for anxiety
Short answer: For anxiety, more users report improvement with Holy Basil — 94% of 35 reports, versus 78% of 200 for Rhodiola.
Holy Basil has 4 meta-analyses and 4 randomized trials on PubMed; Rhodiola has 18 and 45.
Based on 129 reports about Holy Basil and 1,376 about Rhodiola. Not medical advice.
| Holy Basil Supplement | Rhodiola Supplement | |
|---|---|---|
| Users say it helped | 81%helped35 reports · medium confidence | 62%helped578 reports · high confidence |
| Verdict | Mostly positive | Mostly positive |
| Research | BResearch: Moderate | AResearch: Strong |
| Meta-analyses / RCTs | 4 / 4 | 18 / 45 |
| Mainly used for | ||
| Energy % reporting improvement | 33% (3) | 90% (363) |
| Anxiety % reporting improvement | 94% (35) | 78% (200) |
| Mood % reporting improvement | — | 87% (219) |
| Focus % reporting improvement | 100% (4) | 85% (102) |
| Sleep % reporting improvement | 100% (15) | 41% (17) |
| Common side effects | fatigue, irritability, sluggishness, cold extremities | jitteriness, insomnia, drowsiness, irritability |
| Typical dose reported | 1 mL / at bedtime | 200 mg / daily |
Some herbal medicines show hypoglycaemic effects in type 2 diabetes. However, these findings should be carefully interpreted due to the low methodological quality, small sample size, and limited number of trials. In the light of some positive findings, some herbal medicines deserve further examination in high-quality trials.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2004 ↗“From ND the Holy Basil works best for me. Everything else has been underwhelming.”
The data from the meta-analysis showed that plant adaptogens could provide a number of benefits in the treatment of chronic fatigue, cognitive impairment, and immune protection. In the future, there is great potential to register medicinal products that contain plant adaptogens for therapeutic purposes.
Nutrients, 2021 ↗“This one not only reduces my social anxiety but actually puts me in a good mood and makes me feel more social.”
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Percentages come from first-hand user reports and are not clinical outcomes. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. How we rate