Ashwagandha (Ghanda)

Gandha is standardized Withania somnifera (ashwagandha), plant widely used in Ayurveda, the traditional medicine of ancient India.

Considered the “Indian Ginseng,” ashwagandha is valued for its adaptogenic properties, supporting immune and liver function as well as the body’s nonspecific adaptive response to environmental stress.

120 Vegi-Caps AOR11036

100% Vegetarian

SUPPLEMENT FACTS:
Serving Size: 1 Capsule %DRI
Withania Somnifera (2.5% Withanolides, 0.1% Sitoindosides)...750mg *
*Dietary Reference Intake not established.
Other ingredients: none. Capsule: vegetarian (hydroxypropylmethylcellulose).

Note: Herbal extracts will naturally vary in color from one batch to another.

AOR guarantees that no ingredients not listed on the label have been added to the product. Contains no wheat, gluten, corn, nuts, dairy, soy, eggs, fish, or shellfish.

Suggested Use
Take two capsules twice a day, or as directed by a qualified health consultant.

Main Applications
As reported by literature:
•Adaptogen.
•Edema.
•Support for tense muscles
•Veta constitutional.

Source
Withania somnifera (root).

Pregnancy / Nursing
Do not use.

Cautions
•May potentiate the effects of barbiturates and other sedatives, as well as antidepressants. Consult with your physician.

Key Ingredients: Withania Somnifera

Related Research of Gandha

If you suffer with chronic stress or flagging energy, then Ayurvedic tradition and a growing body of scientific research suggest that Ashwagandha may be worth looking into. Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), the so-called “Indian ginseng,” is actually not a ginseng species at all; and while it does provide powerful support against overwhelming stress, its effects are in many ways distinct from most other adaptogenic herbs. While most adaptogens primarily work by helping the body to mobilize and maintain the physiological response to stress, Ashwagandha appears to work first and foremost by reducing the stress-related excesses of the alarmed nervous system. As science defines these botanicals’ effects and mechanisms of action more precisely, the blanket tag “adaptogen” will no doubt be replaced by a series of more precise terms for substances which help the body adapt to stress in different ways.

In a controlled study in humans stressed with repeated, heavy swimming, people taking Ashwagandha were better protected against the ulcers, depletion of vitamin C, and exhaustion of a key adrenal hormone, and had increased physical endurance, as compared with people taking Panax ginseng. Similar studies have shown that providing lab animals with Ashwagandha leads to better stress tolerance, longer swimming times, greater maintenance of glycogen energy stores, the development of more heart muscle mass, protection against the shrinking of the adrenals and the depletion of vitamin C, and more muscle weight gains.

Likewise, animals experience a great deal of stress when under forced restraint; such animals experience fewer gastric ulcers, less behavioral despair, and less need to pump out natural “pain killers” if given Ashwagandha.

In a double-blind trial in humans, 101 healthy men aged 50 to 59 were evaluated for various aging parameters over the course of a year. Increased red blood cell levels, greater libido, and lower erythrocyte sedimentation rate (a measure of chronic inflammation) were observed in the men who got Ashwagandha instead of the dummy pills.

Ashwagandha also protects the body against immune suppression. In one study, mice were given one of three drugs that suppress the immune system, with or without Ashwagandha added to their diets. Compared with animals receiving the immunosuppressive drugs alone, animals whose diets were supplemented with Ashwagandha suffered much less suppression of bone marrow activity, with the result that they had higher hemoglobin, red blood cell count, platelet count, and body weights – and higher levels of the white blood cells of the immune system.

In another study, a mixture of sitoindosides from Ashwagandha activated the peritoneal macrophages (a kind of immune cell) in laboratory animals, increasing their mobilization and their ability to consume foreign bacteria while boosting levels of enzymes that help the body break down damaged and toxic molecules left over from the body’s metabolic process. In yet a third study, administration of Ashwagandha extract to either healthy or tumor-bearing animals was found to enhance the proliferation of immune cells and their precursors in the thymus and bone marrow, actually doubling the body’s response to either of two immunological challenges. Ashwagandha also boosted the activity of natural killer (NK) cells, and the immune cells’ ability to destroy infected and foreign cells was enhanced.

The immune system must ride out a delicate balance, however. So the observation that Ashwagandha protects against the suppression of the immune system might lead to concerns that it might overactivate these same processes, potentially aggravating chronic inflammation and autoimmunity. So it’s all the more remarkable that Ashwagandha has been found to have significant anti-inflammatory activity, reducing autoimmune response to an animal model of arthritis to a similar degree as a cortisone drug. In another study, Ashwagandha reduced both the degeneration of the joints and the swelling induced by an arthritis-inducing drug in experimental animals.

In some kinds of chronic inflammation (especially those involving fine particles embedded in the tissue (like silica dust in the lungs) or cells infected by fungi or mycobacteria), the chronic attack of immune cells trying to clear the unclearable eventually leads to a nodule made up of densely-packed immune cells trapped within the enlarged local cells. In at least two animal studies, Ashwagandha has been shown to reduce the formation of these aggregated cellular nodules (granuloma) after injection with carageenan or implantation with cotton pellets.

Ashwagandha has traditionally been used as an Ayurvedic remedy for anxiety, an effect well documented in animal models. As well, Ashwagandha protects animals against morphine tolerance, dependence, and toxicity.

The issue of proper standardization of botanicals must always be addressed, to ensure reliable, consistent results for users. The first active compounds discovered in Ashwagandha were a family of steroidal lactones collectively called the withanolides. But more recently, a group of glucoside and saponin acyl derivatives of the withanolides – the sitoisdosides – were identified. Sitoindosides are more specific markers than the withanolides, and appear to be responsible for much of the herb’s anti-stress and anti-anxiety activities. Accordingly, Ashwagandha supplements should be standardized to their sitoindoside content, in addition to their withanolide levels.

References
Dhuley JN. Nootropic-like effect of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera L.) in mice. Phytother Res 2001 Sep; 15(6): 524-8
Kuppurajan K, Rajagopalan SS, Sitaraman R, Rajgopalan V, Janaki R, Venkataraghavan S. Effect of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera Dunal) on the process of aging in human volunteers. J Res Ayurved Siddha. 1980; 1(2):247–5
Archana R, Namasivayam A.Antistressor effect of Withania somnifera. J Ethnopharmacol 1999 Jan; 64(1): 91-3.
Bhattacharya SK, Bhattacharya A, Sairam K, Ghosal S. Anxiolytic-antidepressant activity of Withania somnifera glycowithanolides: an experimental study. Phytomedicine 2000 Dec; 7(6): 463-9.

This information is copyright the Editor of Advances magazine and may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any medium without the express permission of Advanced Orthomolecular Research. Used with permission

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