Salidroside: An Overview of Its Promising Potential and Diverse Applications

Salidroside, a phenolic compound isolated from various Rhodiola plants, is the principal active constituent of Traditional Chinese Medicine known for its adaptogenic properties. Due to the challenging environment of Rhodiola species, such as high altitude, high radiation, drought, and hypoxia, the source of salidroside is scarce. However, numerous studies have shown that salidroside has a range of biological activities, including cardiovascular and central nervous system activity, and anti-hypoxia, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging activities.Rhodiola is a perennial flowering herb, which grows mainly in the Himalayas, Northwest Asia, North America, and other alpine regions . It is known as ‘plateau Panax ginseng’ for its tenacious vitality and resistance to hypoxic conditions . Salidroside is a phenolic compound widely found and extracted from the rhizomes and tubers of Rhodiola plants  Compared with other adaptogens in traditional medicine, salidroside has unique value in anti-hypoxia, antioxidation, and anti-inflammation. For example, Astragaloside and Ginsenoside indirectly play an anti-hypoxia role by enhancing the body’s immune function and improving cardiac function. Salidroside can directly stimulate the production of erythropoietin, thereby improving the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood and effectively alleviating hypoxia damage. However, the content of natural salidroside in Rhodiola is only 0.5~0.8%, the direct extraction process is complicated, and the extraction rate is low . Therefore, producing salidroside by chemical synthesis and biotechnology has become a research hotspot. At the same time, salidroside has been proven as an environmentally adaptable compound with anti-hypoxia, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and neuroprotective activities. It has been used and exhibits an important application value in the military, aerospace, and healthcare medicines .