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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