Withania somnifera, known commonly as ashwagandha(Hindi), Indian ginseng, or winter cherry, is a plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family.
· This species is a short shrub growing 35 to 75 centimeters tall. The root of the plant is used medicinally.
· Withania somnifera is cultivated in many of the drier regions of India, such as Mandsaur District of Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
· Ashwagandha is used for arthritis, anxiety, trouble sleeping (insomnia), tumors, tuberculosis, asthma, skin condition marked by white patchiness (leukoderma), bronchitis, backache, fibromyalgia, menstrual problems, hiccups, and chronic liver disease.
· Ashwagandha is used for improving thinking ability, decreasing pain and swelling (inflammation), and preventing the effects of aging. It is also used for fertility problems in men and women and also to increase sexual desire.
One of the more popular and well known benefits of Withania somnifera is its ability to act as a general sedative. This is particularly useful for those experiencing intermittent periods of stress, a general and inherent tendency towards anxiety and nervousness, and bouts of insomnia. The ability of Withania somnifera root extract to act as a soothing agent is reflected in its scientific name: "somnifera" is Latin for "soporific," which in turn means "tending to induce drowsiness or sleep."
· While it might seem contradictory for a plant extract to be able to work as a sedative and a rejuvenating agent, Withania somnifera not only manages to help the body adapt to stress by calming it, but by simultaneously promoting overall vigor and vitality.
· Withania somnifera is known to have an anti-inflammatory effect on swollen and painful tissue. This makes it an effective natural treatment for the pain and swelling resulting from such conditions as arthritis and rheumatism.
· Stress, environmental toxins, and poor nutrition all have a detrimental impact on our nervous systems. Using a validated model of damaged nerve cells and impaired nerve-signaling pathways, re-searchers noted that ashwagandha supported significant regeneration of the axons and dendrites of nerve cells. Furthermore, ashwagandha extract supported the reconstruction of synapses, the junctions where nerve cells communicate with other cells. The investigators concluded that ashwagandha extract helps to reconstruct networks of the nervous system, making it a potential treatment for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
· In addition to ashwagandha’s documented neuroprotective effects, exciting recent evidence suggests that it also has the potential to stop cancer cells in their tracks. For example, a recent analysis showed that ashwagandha extract inhibited the growth of human breast, lung, and colon cancer cell lines in the laboratory.
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