General tonic

Desert broomrape

Cistanche deserticola

One industry-sponsored randomised, double-blind trial in 48 men doing resistance training found 5 g of extract twice daily for 8 weeks improved strength measures and blood markers (testosterone, cortisol, CRP, creatine kinase) more than placebo, especially in untrained men; no adverse events were reported. Independent replication is lacking.

Safed musli

Chlorophytum borivilianum

In a pilot double-blind RCT in 60 healthy volunteers, 3 g/day of root powder for 60 days increased 6-minute walk distance (468 vs 420 m) and cycle-ergometer distance compared with placebo, with lower diastolic blood pressure under fixed workload; handgrip strength did not differ from placebo.

African potato

Hypoxis hemerocallidea

Corm decoctions are taken as tonics for wasting diseases, tuberculosis and cancers.

American ginseng

Panax quinquefolius

Used as a general tonic by the Cherokee, Delaware and Menominee, and as a tonic, stimulant, digestive and diuretic in the traditional uses WHO records.

Amla (Indian gooseberry)

Phyllanthus emblica

Amalaki is a classic rasayana (rejuvenative) in Ayurveda and the base of chyawanprash.

Argan

Argania spinosa

Eaten as a fortifying food: almandaq (semolina, barley and argan oil, mainly for children), amlou (roasted almonds, honey and argan oil, also considered aphrodisiac) and bsis (barley flour, honey and oil).

Asian rice

Oryza sativa

Njavara (Shashtika), a fast-maturing rice described in the Charaka and Sushruta Samhitas, is still grown in Kerala because its grains are needed for several Ayurvedic treatments.

Asiatic dogwood

Cornus officinalis

A classic tonic of Chinese medicine for weakness, dizziness and tinnitus, sore lower back and knees, and profuse sweating. Not tested clinically.

Bibhitaki

Terminalia bellirica

The Charaka Samhita includes bibhitaki in rasayana (rejuvenating) preparations said to bestow longevity, intellect and strength.

Bitter bark

Alstonia constricta

Taken as a tonic in Queensland Aboriginal medicine.

Black musli

Curculigo orchioides

Considered since the Tang dynasty a tonic to maintain energy and nourish liver and kidney.

Cancer bush

Lessertia frutescens

Used as an adaptogenic tonic and, as commercial tablets, against HIV-associated muscle wasting; no trial has shown an effect on wasting.

Cascarilla

Croton eluteria

Given as a tonic and stimulant for the debility of chronic disease and convalescence from acute illness in Eclectic practice.

Chaga

Inonotus obliquus

Brewed as a general health drink and coffee substitute in Russia and Finland.

Chinese raspberry

Rubus chingii

Treated as a food-medicine for 'kidney deficiency'; the fresh ripe fruit is eaten and the plant is on China's 2002 list of substances that are both food and medicine.

Chinese yam

Dioscorea polystachya

A superior-grade tonic in the Shennong Bencao Jing for the lungs, spleen and kidneys and the 'five fatigues'; used in formulas such as Liuwei Dihuang pills.

Early purple orchid

Orchis mascula

The tuber is valued as a nourishing tonic in Turkey, and orchid tubers were eaten in famines. Nineteenth-century authors already argued that salep's food value was overestimated.

Flowering dogwood

Cornus florida

The Delaware, Cherokee and Rappahannock used the root or root bark as a tonic, and the Rappahannock also used it 'to purify the blood'. King's calls the bark tonic, astringent and slightly stimulant, for use in general exhaustion.

Fo-ti

Reynoutria multiflora

Used to 'nourish the liver and kidneys, tonify the blood' and against ageing; recorded for weakness of the lower back and knees, tinnitus, limb numbness and neurasthenia (processed root).

Fringe tree

Chionanthus virginicus

King's describes it as a tonic in convalescence from exhausting illness and in general debility.

Giant thorny bamboo

Bambusa bambos

Ayurveda uses vanshlochan for general debility and bone-related disorders, on the strength of tradition rather than trials.

Glossy privet

Ligustrum lucidum

Ranked as a 'top-tier' (non-toxic) medicine in the Shennong Bencao Jing, which says long-term use keeps the body fit and delays ageing; the Chinese Pharmacopoeia describes it as supporting healthy energy and tonifying kidney and liver.

Goji

Lycium barbarum

The Shennong Bencao Jing says long-term use 'strengthens muscles and bones, lightens the body, and prevents ageing'; it remains a staple Chinese tonic food.

Guiera

Guiera senegalensis

Widely taken as a tonic in African traditional medicine (Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan).

Hardy rubber tree

Eucommia ulmoides

Ranked a superior herb in the Shennong Bencao Jing for 'tonifying essence, strengthening tendons and bones, enhancing mental fortitude and promoting longevity'.

Haritaki (Chebulic myrobalan)

Terminalia chebula

A rasayana (rejuvenative) in Ayurveda and a cure-all in Tibetan medicine; no clinical evidence of general tonic effects.

Indian kudzu

Pueraria tuberosa

A rasayana used as a nutritive and energising tonic, and with long pepper for malnourished children. Anti-stress effects were seen in rats.

Jiaogulan

Gynostemma pentaphyllum

In TCM it is said to clear heat, detoxify, tonify qi and promote vitality; in rural East and Southeast Asia it is associated with longevity.

Jivanti

Leptadenia reticulata

In Ayurveda Jivanti is a Rasayana herb, used to promote vigour and vitality and for emaciation.

Jujube

Ziziphus jujuba

The Shennong Bencao Jing lists jujube as a top-grade herb said to lengthen life by nourishing the blood, improving sleep and aiding digestion.

Kakadu plum

Terminalia ferdinandiana

Aboriginal people ate the fruit directly, made a refreshing drink from it, and used it as a medicinal plant. Its main modern use is as a vitamin C- and antioxidant-rich food; health effects of eating it have not been tested in trials.

Lingzhi (reishi)

Ganoderma lingzhi

Ranked among the superior (upper-grade) medicines of the Shennong Bencao Jing, taken long-term for vitality and longevity.

Long pepper

Piper longum

Classed in Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani as a rasayana, a rejuvenating and immune-supporting herb.

Noble dendrobium

Dendrobium nobile

TCM: nourishes yin, tonifies the five viscera and is said to 'lighten the body and prolong life'; stems also nourish the stomach and promote fluid production. No clinical trials.

Oregon grape

Berberis aquifolium

Samish took a root infusion as a general tonic, Okanagan-Colville a branch infusion as a 'blood tonic', and Karok a root decoction as medicine for all kinds of sickness.

Pellitory

Anacyclus pyrethrum

In Unani medicine Āqar qarha is a 'general tonic' (Muqawwī-i-‘Ām) and an ingredient of compound formulas such as Tiryaq Wabā'ī.

Prickly pear

Opuntia ficus-indica

The vitamin C–rich fruit was once eaten to prevent scurvy on long voyages.

Punarnava

Boerhavia diffusa

Used as a 'rasayana' rejuvenator in Ayurveda, believed to restore vitality and strengthen body and mind.

Quassia

Quassia amara

A bitter tonic; its bitterness is tied to the humoral principles of Creole medicine.

Quinoa

Chenopodium quinoa

Valued as a food: the seed has higher nutritive value than traditional cereals and an unusual balance of protein, oil and fat. This is a nutritional property, not a treatment effect.

Rehmannia

Rehmannia glutinosa

Used as a tonic and to 'regenerate blood and fluids'; root polysaccharides affect immune cells in mice, but there are no clinical trials of the root as a tonic.

Sassafras

Sassafras albidum

The commonest Indigenous use: Cherokee, Chippewa, Choctaw, Delaware and Iroquois took root-bark infusions or decoctions to 'purify' or 'thin' the blood and as a spring tonic. MSK notes there is no scientific evidence for detoxification or general-health claims.

Scarlet caterpillar club

Cordyceps militaris

Used in Chinese and Korean practice as a lung and kidney tonic in place of Ophiocordyceps sinensis; health claims rest largely on that resemblance, and the effects of O. sinensis are themselves unproven.

Shalaparni

Desmodium gangeticum

As the leading ingredient of Dasamula kwatha (Dashamula decoction) it is given as a health tonic in Ayurveda. No clinical trials of the plant alone were found.

Shatavari

Asparagus racemosus

In Ayurveda the primary rejuvenative herb for women, called the 'queen of herbs' and used to support reproductive health and hormonal balance; this tradition, not trials, is the basis of most of its uses.

Siberian Solomon's seal

Polygonatum sibiricum

The classical text Ming Yi Bie Lu credits it with tonifying the middle jiao, replenishing qi, dispelling rheumatism and harmonising the five viscera, and it was revered as the 'immortals' surplus grain' for prolonging life.

Sika deer

Cervus nippon

Velvet antler is credited in Chinese medicine with tonifying the kidney, promoting the production of essence and blood, and strengthening tendons and bones; sika deer is listed as a tonic in many classical Chinese pharmaceutical works.

Snow fungus

Tremella fuciformis

Regarded in China for centuries as a precious medicine for nourishing the stomach and lungs and for weakness, and used as a tonic and 'body builder'.

Sour plum

Ximenia americana

Used as a tonic by Malian healers.

Strychnine tree

Strychnos nux-vomica

Ayurvedic sources claim purified Kupeelu is a rasayana (rejuvenative) for old age. Processing in sour gruel or ginger juice lowers strychnine content by roughly 40–70% but does not remove it.

Suma

Hebanthe eriantha

The root is used in South American folk medicine as a tonic, invigorant, 'anti-stress' agent and memory aid. These uses have not been tested in controlled human trials.

Sweet sarsaparilla

Smilax glyciphylla

Recorded as a 'blood cleanser' and tonic. A hot-water leaf extract was a strong antioxidant in test-tube assays, but this has not been shown to matter in people.

Tongkat ali

Eurycoma longifolia

Used as a power tonic after childbirth and promoted in Malaysia as an adaptogen; not tested for these purposes.

Tree turmeric

Coscinium fenestratum

Given as a tonic for general debility; no clinical data.