AVAC Ltd. plans to put almost $741,000 over three years toward processing of Alberta farmers’ harvests of roseroot for use as herbal supplements.
Rhodiola rosea, also called roseroot or goldenroot, is an ancient herb “with an international reputation for strengthening the bodies of Olympic athletes and Russian cosmonauts,” AVAC said in a release Wednesday.
AVAC, a government-backed fund that supports early-stage technologies and “commercially-relevant” agricultural research in Alberta, said its funding will support clinical trials toward a recommended dosage in a gel cap formulation, as well as the plant’s processing for sale as an ingredient for use in “functional foods.”
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The plant has been harvested in the wild in northern Europe for centuries, with a reputation for helping the body deal with stress and fatigue while boosting the immune, nervous and glandular systems, AVAC said.
Alberta’s agriculture department has spearheaded a three-year project to determine whether roseroot can be grown here, AVAC said, during which time the department has gathered new data on how best to grow commercial quantities of the crop.
“We have distributed close to one million seedlings to growers and the Alberta Rhodiola Rosea Growers Organization (ARRGO), which was formed in 2007, has a growing list of farmers who will work together to give buyers a central source to buy top-quality Rhodiola rosea,” said Susan Lutz, a senior development officer for functional foods with the department, in AVAC’s release.
Lutz said she expected roseroot will eventually be grown on 400 acres in Alberta. ARRGO and the Alberta Natural Health Agricultural Network are looking to attract and educate new growers, she added.
International buyers have already expressed interest in buying three tonnes of roseroot, she said, pegging the potential North American market for the product at about $80 million, of which she felt Alberta could capture 25 per cent.
