Ashwagandha
What is
Ashwagandha? Ashwagandha Latin names is Withania Somniferum
and Ashwagandha common name is Indian Ginseng. Ashwagandha
belongs to the pepper family and is found in India and Africa.
The roots and leaves of ashwagandha are used medicinally. The
health applications for ashwagandha in traditional Indian and
Ayurvedic medicine are extensive. Ayurveda is made up of two
Sanskrit words, Ayu, which means life," and Veda, which means
"knowledge." For more than 1,000 years, ashwagandha has been
highly prized as a treatment for impotence, stress, infertility
and arthritis. The shoots and seeds of the plant are also used
in India as food, and to thicken milk. In the West, researchers
have focused on isolating the one or two active ingredients in
each herb. In the ayurvedic tradition, however, the entire plant
is used on the assumption that all the compounds in a plant are
meant to work together. Because of it's wide range of activity
on many different body systems, ashwagandha has long been
reputed to be an overall tonic that can promote health and
vitality, much like ginseng. Ashwagandha twigs have been chewed
for cleaning teeth, and the smoke of the plant has been inhaled
for relief of toothaches.
Uses of Ashwagandha: Arthritis
Asthma
Bronchitis
Cancer
Candida
Fever
Inflammations
Nausea
Rheumatism
Mental function
Stress
In general, tonics such as Ashwagandha are believed to
strengthen and fortify the body so that it is better able to
withstand stressful situations. In other words, it helps the
body to maintain it's equilibrium, even during difficult times.
Today, ashwagandha is included in many combination formulas to
treat a variety of ills. It is being heavily promoted as an
aphrodisiac. A natural anti-inflammatory agent, ashwagandha may
help to reduce the discomfort associated with arthritis.
Ashwagandha is said to be useful in the treatment of
inflammatory conditions, ulcers, and scabies when applied
topically. Compounds known as withanolides are believed to
account for the multiple medicinal applications of ashwagandha.
These molecules are steroidal and bear a resemblance, both in
their action and appearance, to the active constituents of Asian
ginseng, known as ginsenosides. The pharmacological activity of
the roots is attributed to the presence of several alkaloids.
Many biochemically heterogeneous alkaloids have been reported in
the roots. In all, 13 Dragendorffpositive components have been
obtained chromatographically. They include cuscohygrine,
anahygrine, tropine, pseudotropine, anaferine, and
isopelletierine.
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