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Botanical Name:
Withania somnifera
Ashwagandha consists of dried mature roots of Withania
somnifera
Dunal, Family Solanaceae.
Common Name(s) in English & Indian Languages
Sanskrit: Hayagandha, Vajigandha
Assamese: Ashvagandha
Bengali: Ashvagandha
English: Indian Ginseng, Winter cherry
Guajarati: Asgandha
Hindi: Asgandh
Kannada: Angarberu, Hiremaddina-gida
Kashmiri: Asagandh
Malayalam: Amukkuram
Marathi: Asagandha, Askagandha
Oriya: Aswagandha
Punjabi: Asgandh
Tamil: Amukkaramkizangu
Telugu: Pennerugadda
Urdu: Asgand
Botanical description:
A woody herb or shrub, up to 2 m in height; growing from a
long, tuberous taproot; stellatetomentose. Leaf: simple,
2–11 cm in length by 1.5-9.0 cm in width, exstipulate,
petiole 6–20 mm long; blade elliptic to ovate-lanceolate,
apex acute or rounded, base acute to long-decurrent, on
vegetative shoots 8–10 cm long and alternate, on
reproductive shoots 3–8 cm long and opposite, arranged in
pairs of one large and one smaller leaf; margin entire or
wavy. Inflorescence: axillary, umbellate cyme of 2–25
yellow-green, short-pedicellate flowers. Flower: perfect,
radially symmetrical, campanulate; calyx with 5 acute
triangular lobes; corolla twice the length of the calyx, 7–8
mm long, with 5 lanceolate lobes, spreading or reflexed;
stamens 5, slightly exserted, filaments alternate to petal
lobes, partially fused to corolla; ovary superior, glabrous,
stigma shallowly bifid. Fruit: berry; globose, 5–6 mm in
diameter, orange-red, enclosed in green, membranous,
inflated calyx approximately 2.5 cm in diameter and slightly
5-angled. Seeds: many, discoid, 2.5 mm in diameter, pale
yellow
Parts used:
Dried roots
Major chemical constituents:
The major characteristic constituents are steroidal lactones
collectively known as withanolides” including withaferin A,
27-deoxywithaferin A, withanolide D, withanosides, and
withasomniferols A–C. Alkaloids constitute the other major
group of compounds found in this plant material. Among the
alkaloids found in the root are anaferine, anahygrine,
cuscohygrine, dl-isopelletierine, 3-tropyltigloate,
tropane-3-α-ol, 3-β- tigloyl-oxy-tropane and tropine. Also
present are saponins including sitoindosides
Therapeutic uses:
• Inflammation (Sotha)
• Pthisis (Ksaya)
• Weakness (Daurbalya)
• Disease due to vata dosa (Vataroga)
• Male impotence (Klaibya)
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