Ashwagandha

1 oz Ashwagandha/4 oz Ashwagandha/Withania somnifera Extract.

Rejuvenative for vata & kapha that promotes vitality & strength

• Increases energy and vitality
• General adaptogen for combating stress
• Assists in calming the mind and promotes restful sleep
• Supports proper function of the adrenals

Ayurvedic Energetics:

• Rasa (taste): bitter, astringent, sweet
• Virya (action): heating
• Vipaka (post-digestive effect): sweet
• Doshas (constitutions): Balancing for vata and kapha, may aggravate pitta in excess

Ashwagandha is one of the most highly regarded and commonly used adaptogens in the Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia. Maximizing the body's ability to resist stress, it enables the body to reserve and sustain vital energy throughout the day while promoting sound, restful sleep at night. It is considered one of the best herbs for calming vata and for revitalizing the male reproductive system. Used by both men and women, it maintains proper nourishment of the tissues, particularly muscle and bone, while supporting proper function of the adrenals. This potent herb is used to promote muscle strength and to support comfortable joint movement. It is also used to maintain a healthy libido, for it is said to bestow upon its user the vitality and strength of a horse. As a rejuvenative, Ashwagandha is particularly useful to seniors and for anyone that would benefit from a nourishing, natural source of energy.

Of all the medicinal plants used in India?s several millennia old tradition of Ayurveda, ashwagandha, Withania somnifera, is the most highly prized. Use of the root can be traced back as far as 3,000 years. Ashwagandha is classified as a rasayan, a rejuvenating or life extending agent. The rasayan are the most esteemed of Ayurveda?s herbs, as they imbue the user with life itself. The root of the plant appears in remedies for cough, rheumatism, gynecological disorders, fatigue, emaciation, inflammation, ulcers, sore eyes, and diminished brain function.

Ashwagandha is also India?s most potent hot plant. It is used equally by men and women, and is widely prescribed by physicians to adults with low libido, and to improve sexual function. In the system of Ayurvedic medicine, ashwagandha is king of the herbs.

Active Ingredients:
Certified organic grain alcohol, distilled water & Ashwagandha extractives.
Dry herb / menstruum ratio: 1 : 4

Recommended Dosage:
SHAKE WELL BEFORE USING.
Two or three times per day take 30 to 40 drops in a little water.

The applicable parts of ashwagandha are the root and berry. Ashwagandha contains several active constituents including alkaloids (isopelletierine, anaferine), steroidal lactones (withanolides, withaferins), and saponins . Ashwagandha does not contain nicotine as some researchers have reported. Some of the withanolides are structurally similar to ginsenosides from ginseng .

Animal model research suggests that ashwagandha has a variety of pharmacological effects including analgesic, antipyretic, anxiolytic, immunomodulatory, sedative, hypotensive, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects. It also seems to stimulate respiratory function, cause smooth muscle relaxation, and stimulate thyroid synthesis and/or secretion.

Some researchers think ashwagandha has a so-called "anti-stressor" effect. Preliminary research suggests ashwagandha suppresses stress-induced increases of dopamine receptors in the corpus striatum of the brain. It also appears to reduce stress-induced increases of plasma corticosterone, blood urea nitrogen, and blood lactic acid. Ashwagandha seems to have anxiolytic effects, possibly by acting as a gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) mimetic agent. It might also have anticonvulsant activity, by binding to the GABA receptor.

Ashwagandha and its constituents also seem to have immunomodulatory effects. The withanolides and sitoindosides seem to cause a mobilization of macrophages, phagocytosis, and lysosomal enzymes . Preliminary evidence suggests ashwagandha might reduce cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression and leukopenia . Ashwagandha also seems to increase bone marrow cell and white blood cell count in radiation-treated animals. It remains unclear, however, what net effect whole ashwagandha preparations have on the immune system.

Research:

1. Bhattacharya SK, Satyan KS, Ghosal S. Antioxidant activity of glycowithanolides from Withania somnifera. Indian J Exp Biol 1997;35:236-9.
2. Mishra LC, Singh BB, Dagenais S. Scientific basis for the therapeutic use of Withania somnifera (ashwagandha): a review. Altern Med Rev 2000;5:334-46.
3. Dasgupta A, Peterson A, Wells A, Actor JK. Effect of Indian Ayurvedic medicine Ashwagandha on measurement of serum digoxin and 11 commonly monitored drugs using immunoassays: study of protein binding and interaction with Digibind. Arch Pathol Lab Med 2007;131:1298-303.
4. Upton R, ed. Ashwagandha Root (Withania somnifera): Analytical, quality control, and therapuetic monograph. Santa Cruz, CA: American Herbal Pharmacopoeia 2000:1-25.
5. Davis L, Kuttan G. Effect of Withania somnifera on cyclophosphamide-induced urotoxicity. Cancer Lett 2000;148:9-17.