HerbalEGram: Volume 14, Issue 9, September 2017

Editor’s note: The following video was produced by Chris Kilham with the support of Ixoreal, the manufacturer of the ashwagandha root extract KSM-66 Ashwagandha. The information contained herein is for educational purposes. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the American Botanical Council.

In this video produced for the American Botanical Council, Medicine Hunter Chris Kilham documents an ashwagandha (Withania somnifera, Solanaceae) harvest at Shri Kartikeya Pharma in the state of Rajasthan in India. There, thousands of acres of ashwagandha are cultivated and harvested by hand, mostly by women.

The field workers at Shri Kartikeya take Kilham through the multi-step process of harvesting ashwagandha roots, the plant part most commonly used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine for therapeutic purposes. First, the dry soil around the plant is loosened and the plant is carefully removed from the ground. Then, the workers chop off most of the aerial parts of the plant and collect the roots. Ashwagandha seeds are typically sown in August, and harvesting takes place in late February or early March.

The name “ashwagandha” is derived from the Sanskrit word ashwa (“horse”), which refers to the pungent odor of the root. (Others believe that the name refers to the herb’s ability to give users “horse-like” stamina and strength.) In the ancient Indian medical system of Ayurveda, ashwagandha is classified as a rasayana, or “life extender.”¹ Ashwagandha root preparations traditionally have been used to promote sleep, enhance mental function, and increase stamina and endurance, among other functions.²

“It’s a remarkable plant,” Kilham says in the video. “The sages who developed Ayurveda over 5,000 years ago regard this as the king of herbs.”

Ashwagandha has been shown to have adaptogenic, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, analgesic, and anxiolytic properties.¹ Human clinical trials have investigated the use of ashwagandha preparations for various conditions, including anxiety,³ osteoarthritis,⁴ cognitive dysfunction,⁵ and fatigue.⁶

—ABC Staff

References

1. Singh N, Bhalla M, de Jager P, Gilca M. An overview on ashwagandha: A rasayana (rejuvenator) of Ayurveda. Afr J Tradit Complemt Altern Med. 2011;8(5 Suppl):208-213. Available at: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3252722/#__ffn_sectitle. Accessed September 11, 2017.
2. Kilham C. Indian herb shows numerous health benefits (ashwagandha). Medicine Hunter website. Available at: www.medicinehunter.com/indian-herb-shows-numerous-health-benefits-ashwagandha. Accessed September 12, 2017.
3. Pratte MA, Nanavati KB, Young V, Morley CP. An alternative treatment for anxiety: A systematic review of human trial results reported for the Ayurvedic herb ashwagandha (Withania somnifera). Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2014;20(12):901-908. Available at: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4270108/. Accessed September 13, 2017.
4. Choubey J, Patel A, Verma MK. Phytotherapy in the treatment of arthritis: A review. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research. 2013;3:2853-2865. Available at: http://ijpsr.com/bft-article/phytotherapy-in-the-treatment-of-arthritis-a-review/?view=fulltext. Accessed September 13, 2017.
5. Chengappa KN, Bowie CR, Schlicht PJ, Fleet D, Brar JS, Jindal R. Randomized placebo-controlled adjunctive study of an extract of Withania somnifera for cognitive dysfunction in bipolar disorder. J Clin Psychiatry. 2013;74(11):1076-83. Available at: www.psychiatrist.com/jcp/article/Pages/2013/v74n11/v74n1107.aspx. Accessed September 13, 2017.
6. Biswal BM, Sulaiman SA, Ismail HC, Zakaria H, Musa KI. Effect of Withania somnifera (ashwagandha) on the development of chemotherapy-induced fatigue and quality of life in breast cancer patients. Integr Cancer Ther. 2013 Jul;12(4):312-22. Available at: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1534735412464551. Accessed September 13, 2017.