Ashwagandha

Ashwagandha is stunning in appearance and of vital importance in Ayurveda or Indian medicine. Ashwagandha has a long history, about 4000 years, as a holistic herb used to treat a variety of ailments. Ashwagandha plant itself is a hardy small woody shrub with small flowers and distinctive red seeds. Ashwagandha benefits our health in various ways.

Withania Somnifera is a perennial shrub from the Solanaceae or Nightshade family. It is also known as Ashwagandha. The herbal root extract has been traditionally used as a tonic and as a sedative but recent research shows that the leaf extract contains Withanolides which have been found to have regenerative properties on brain-cell synapses in mice and in human cell lines in laboratory studies.

Classification of the Plant

• Genus: Withania
• Species: Somnifera
• Common Name : Ashwagandha
• Other Name : winter cherry, ashvagandha
• Botanical Name : Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal
• Plant Family : Solanaceae
• Synonyms : Rhamnus spina-Christi L.
• Part Used : Eastern and Western herbal medicine use the root, most notably dried and cut.
• Overview : Dehydrated Roots.