adaptogen
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adaptogen
Alternative/popular healthnoun A nutritional supplement—e.g., ginseng, maitake mushroom—which allegedly helps the body adapt to various stressors—e.g., heat, cold, exertion, trauma, sleep deprivation, toxic exposure, radiation, infection, psychological stress; ginseng is regarded by some as the prototypic adaptogen.
Physiology
Any of a family of natural substances, said to compensate for fluctuations in homeostasis; adaptogens may act on serum glucose, leukocytes, temperature, blood pressure or pulse by increasing or decreasing the substance of interest.
Segen's Medical Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
Adaptogen
Substance that improves the body's ability to adapt to stress.
Mentioned in: Ginseng, Korean
Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.