Rhodiola rosea (Golden Root, Roseroot, Aaron's Rod) is a plant in the Crassulaceae family that grows in cold regions of the world. These include much of the Arctic, the mountains of Central Asia, the Rocky Mountains, and mountainous parts of Europe, The perennial plant grows in areas up to 2280 meters elevation. Several shoots grow from the same thick root. Shoots reaches 5 to 35 cm in height. Rhodiola rosea is dioecious – having separate female and male plants.

Rosavins are a glycoside compound found in the plant Rhodiola rosea. It is thought to be one of the compounds responsible for the antidepressant and anxiolytic actions of this plant, along with salidroside

Salidroside (Rhodioloside) is a glucoside compound found in the plant Rhodiola rosea. It is thought to be one of the compounds responsible for the antidepressant and anxiolytic actions of this plant, along with rosavin. Salidroside may be more active than rosavin,even though many commercially marketed Rhodiola rosea extracts are standardised for rosavin content rather than salidroside.

Rhodiola rosea extract is mainly used in the form of capsules or a tablet, though tinctures are also available. The capsules and tablets often contain 100 mg of a standardized amount of 3 percent rosavins and 0.8–1 percent salidroside because the naturally occurring ratio of these compounds in Rhodiola rosea root is approximately 3:1. Authentication as well as potency of golden root crude drug materials and standardized extracts thereof are carried out with validated RP-HPLC analyses to verify the content of the marker constituents salidroside, rosarin, rosavin, rosin and rosiridin. However, as with many plant-based remedies, an approved dosage range in relation to the active constituents has officially not been established. In these cases, dosage recommendations of the individual manufacturers should be followed.