A double-blind, placebo-controlled, pilot RCT of Chisan (ADAPT-232; a standardised fixed combination of extracts of Rhodiola rosea, Schisandra chinensis and Eleutherococcus senticosus) was carried out in patients suffering from acute non-specific pneumonia. Sixty patients (males and females; 18–65 years old) received a standard treatment with cephazoline, bromhexine and theophylline. In addition, one group of 30 patients was given Chisan mixture, whilst the second group of 30 patients received a placebo, each medication being taken twice daily from the beginning of the study for 10–15 days. The primary outcome measurements were the duration of antibiotic therapy associated with the clinical manifestations of the acute phase of the disease, together with an evaluation of mental performance in a psychometric test and self-evaluation of quality of life (QoL) before treatment and on the first and fifth days after clinical convalescence. The mean duration of treatment with antibiotics required to bring about recovery from the acute phase of the disease was 2 days shorter in patients treated with Chisan compared with those in the placebo group. With respect to all QoL domains (physical, psychological, social and ecological), patients in the Chisan group scored higher at the beginning of the rehabilitation period, and significantly higher on the fifth day after clinical convalescence, than patients in the control group. The authors conclude that adjuvant therapy with ADAPT-232 has a positive effect on the recovery of patients.