Did you know that the Withania somnifera - Ashwagandha, a herb which is a versatile ayurvedic medicine, a tonic used to rejuvenate the body and increase longevity?
The Withania plant commonly known as Ashwagandha, a herb in the Indian Ayurvedic medicine is a genus of the Solanaceae or nightshade family of flowering plants distributed in the subtropical regions from the Mediterranean to India an South East Asia. The plant is also known as Indian ginseng, poison gooseberry, or winter cherry. The plant 's various parts have been used to treat a variety of ailments that affect human health. It has antioxidant, abortifacient, diueretic, antibiotic, aphrodisiac, deobstruent, dioretic, sedative, antidiabetic, immunomodulatory, hemopoietic, and nureroprotective properties.
The Latin species name 'somnifera' means "sleep-inducing". The Indian name name "ashwagandha" is a combination of the Sanskrit words 'ashva', meaning horse, and 'gandha', meaning smell, reflecting that the root has a strong horse-like odor. In Indian vernacular language it is known by several names such as Angara beru ಅಂಗಾರ ಬೇರು, Ashwagandha ಅಶ್ವಗಂಧ n Kannada,; Asgandh in Hindi; Amukkuram, Pevetti in Malyalam; Amukkuram, in Tamil; Ashwagandha in Telugu; Askanda, Ashwagandha in Marathi; and Aksand, Asvagandha in Gujarati.
The plant is a short, tender shrub growing with Tomentose branches which extend radially from a central stem. Leaves are dull green, elliptic shaped flowers are small, green and bell-shaped. The ripe fruit is orange-red. It is cultivated in many of the drier regions of India and in sub-tropical regions. It is grown in different soil conditions but prefers dry stony soil with sun to partial shade. It is cultivated from seed in the early spring, or from greenwood cuttings in the later spring.
Withania somnifera's main phytochemical constituents are withanolides – which are triterpene lactones – withaferin A, alkaloids, steroidal lactones, tropine, and cuscohygrine. The Ashwagandha plant, particularly its root powder, has been used for centuries in traditional Indian medicine of Ayurveda, and Unani
Apart from its use as an exceptional nerve tonic to improve nerve function to maintain calm during stressful condition, and as a dietary supplement, its chemo-preventive properties is said to make it a potentially useful adjunct for patients receiving radiation and chemotherapy.
- Narasipur Char
