Ashwagandha: The Wonder Drug

Withania Somnifera has been used in Ayurveda medicine system since ancient times. Withania Somnifera is a popular Indian medicinal plant belonging to family Solanaceae nightshade. It is also known as Ashwagandha, Indian ginseng and Winter cherry. It is an adaptogen, a drug that can help increase our resistance to stress. Withania Somnifera have many different pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antidiabetic, anti-tumour, anti-ageing, Anti-oxidant, Antifungal, Antibacterial, Musculotropic Activity, Anticonvulsant activity, Antiviral activity, Macrophage-activating effect, neuroprotective, stress/anxiety, athletic performance, cognition, diabetes, insomnia and male infertility. Ashwagandha is generally considered to be safe, with a few minor possible side-effects, although care should be taken with other therapies. Withania Somnifera It is used for various kinds of diseases and specially used as a nerve tonic. Pretreatment with Withania Somnifera showed significance protection against stress induced gastric ulcers. WS have anti-tumor effect on Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell carcinoma. It was also found effective against urethane induced lung-adenoma in mice. In some cases of uterine fibroids, dermatosarcoma, long term treatment with WS controlled the condition. It has a Cognition Promoting Effect and was useful in children with memory deficit and in old age people loss of memory. It was also found useful in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, Huntington's and Alzeimer's diseases. It has GABA mimetic effect and was shown to promote formation of dendrites. It has anxiolytic effect and improves energy levels and mitochondrial health. It is an anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic agent and was found useful in clinical cases of Rheumatoid and Osteoarthritis. The biologically active chemical constituents of Withania Somnifera include alkaloids like isopelletierine, anaferine, cuseohygrine, anahygrine, etc., steroidal lactones like withanolides, withaferins and saponins, Sitoindosides and acylsteryl glucosides, amino acids, volatile oil, starch, reducing sugars.