Molecular target
HPA-Axis Modulation
Also: Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis · id HPA
Stress-response system; chronic dysregulation is associated with depression, anxiety, and inflammation. Adaptogenic plants are most often investigated here.
Educational use only. This page summarizes published research and traditional-use records for educational purposes. It does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Do not start, stop, or change medications based on this information. Discuss any decisions about therapies — pharmaceutical or botanical — with a qualified clinician who knows your medical history.
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Pharmaceutical agents
Drugs that act on HPA-Axis Modulation
These medications have HPA-Axis Modulation among their molecular targets. Sharing a target is a mechanistic relationship — it does not make any plant below an alternative to, or substitute for, these drugs.
Botanical connections
Plants whose compounds act on HPA-Axis Modulation
Each plant below contains a named compound documented to act on HPA-Axis Modulation. The compound and the reason for the connection are shown on every edge — a shared mechanism, not a therapeutic equivalence.
- Withanolide fractionsteroidal lactone
Modulates the HPA axis (cortisol-lowering during stress) and exerts mild GABA-A modulation centrally. Together these underlie the documented anxiolytic and sleep-promoting effects.
- Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides (MOO)Oligosaccharide / prebiotic
Preclinical and clinical studies report that MOO is minimally absorbed systemically; proposed mechanism involves gut microbiota modulation of the tryptophan → 5-HTP → serotonin pathway, with downstream increases in central 5-HT and reported BDNF upregulation. MOO is an orally approved drug in China for depressive disorder.
- Ocimumosides A & BPhenylpropanoid glycoside
Adaptogenic glycosides specific to Tulsi; HPA-axis modulation contributes to stress effects.
- Eleutherosides A–GMixed lignans / glycosides
Heterogeneous group of compounds (taxonomically distinct from Panax ginsenosides). Primary adaptogenic constituents underlying Soviet-era 'tonic' research.
- Steroidal saponins (shatavarins)
Shatavari is a classical Ayurvedic adaptogen; preclinical work attributes HPA-axis/stress-response modulation to its steroidal saponins. Evidence is preliminary, but HPA modulation is the named adaptogenic mechanism rather than generic noise.