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| | [[File:Withania somnifera00.jpg|thumb|Flower]] | | [[File:Withania somnifera00.jpg|thumb|Flower]] |
| | [[File:Withania somnifera MHNT.BOT.2012.10.13.jpg|thumb|Fruits]] | | [[File:Withania somnifera MHNT.BOT.2012.10.13.jpg|thumb|Fruits]] |
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| − | '''''Withania somnifera''''', known commonly as '''ashwagandha''',<ref name=GRIN>{{GRIN | accessdate = 2011-10-29 }}</ref> '''Indian ginseng''',<ref name=prota>{{cite web | url =http://database.prota.org/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpub.dll?AC=GET_RECORD&XC=/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpub.dll&BU=http%3A%2F%2Fdatabase.prota.org%2Fsearch.htm&TN=Protabase&SN=AUTO1559&SE=108&RN=0&MR=20&TR=0&TX=1000&ES=0&CS=1&XP=&RF=Webreport&EF=Basic+Record+Form&DF=Webdisplay&RL=0&EL=1&DL=0&NP=3&ID=&MF=&MQ=&TI=0&DT=&ST=0&IR=1202&NR=0&NB=0&SV=0&SS=0&BG=&FG=&QS=Search&OEX=ISO-8859-1&OEH=ISO-8859-1 | title = ''Withania somnifera'' (L.) Dunal | publisher = Gurib-Fakim A. and Schmelzer G. H. | work = PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Ressources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale) [Online Database] | location = Wageningen, Netherlands | accessdate = 2012-08-07 }}</ref> '''poison gooseberry''',<ref name=prota/> or '''winter cherry''',<ref name=GRIN/> is a plant in the [[Solanaceae]] or nightshade family. Several other species in the genus ''Withania'' are morphologically similar.<ref name="drugs">{{cite web|url=https://www.drugs.com/npp/ashwagandha.html|title= Ashwagandha|publisher=Drugs.com|date=2009|accessdate=27 August 2017}}</ref> Although commonly used as a [[herbalism|medicinal herb in]] [[Ayurveda|Ayurvedic medicine]], there is no conclusive [[evidence-based medicine|clinical evidence]] that it is effective for treating any ailment.<ref name=drugs/><ref name="mlp">{{cite web|title=Ashwagandha|url=https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/natural/953.html|publisher=MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine|accessdate=21 December 2017|date=26 June 2017}}</ref>
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| − | ==Description==
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| − | This species is a short, tender [[Perennial plant|perennial]] [[shrub]] growing {{convert|35-75|cm|abbr=on}} tall. [[Tomentose]] branches extend radially from a central stem. Leaves are dull green, elliptic, usually up to 10–12 cm (4 to 5 in) long. The flowers are small, green and bell-shaped. The ripe fruit is orange-red.
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| − | ==Etymology==
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| − | The species name ''somnifera'' means "sleep-inducing" in [[Latin]].<ref>{{cite book | author = Stearn, W. T.| year = 1995 | title = Botanical Latin: History, Grammar, Syntax, Terminology and Vocabulary | edition = 4th | publisher = Timber Press | isbn = 0-88192-321-4 }}</ref> The name, ''ashwagandha'', is a combination of the word ''ashva'', meaning horse, and ''gandha'', meaning smell, reflecting that the root has a strong horse-like odor.<ref name=mlp/>
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| − | ==Cultivation==
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| − | ''Withania somnifera'' is cultivated in many of the drier regions of [[India]]. It is also found in [[Nepal]], [[China]]<ref name="Pandit">{{cite journal|date=February 2013|title=Effects of ''Withania somnifera'' on the growth and virulence properties of ''Streptococcus mutans'' and ''Streptococcus sobrinus'' at sub-MIC levels|journal=Anaerobe|volume=19|pages=1–8|doi=10.1016/j.anaerobe.2012.10.007|author1=Pandit, S.|author2=Chang, K.-W.|author3=Jeon, J.-G.}}</ref> and [[Yemen]].<ref>Hugh Scott & Kenneth Mason, ''Western Arabia and the Red Sea'', Naval Intelligence Division: London 1946, p. 597 {{ISBN|0-7103-1034-X}}.</ref>
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| − | ==Pathology==
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| − | ''Withania somnifera'' is prone to several pests and diseases. Leaf spot disease caused by ''[[Alternaria alternata]]'' is the most prevalent disease, which is most severe in the plains of [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], [[Haryana]], and [[Himachal Pradesh]]. Biodeterioration of its pharmaceutically active components during leaf spot disease has been reported.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Pati | first1 = P. K. | last2 = Sharma | first2 = M. | last3 = Salar | first3 = R. K. | last4 = Sharma | first4 = A. | last5 = Gupta | first5 = A. P. | last6 = Singh | first6 = B. | doi = 10.1007/s12088-008-0053-y | title = Studies on leaf spot disease of ''Withania somnifera'' and its impact on secondary metabolites | journal = Indian Journal of Microbiology | volume = 48 | issue = 4 | pages = 432–437 | year = 2009 | pmid = 23100743| pmc =3476785 }}</ref> The ''[[Choanephora cucurbitarum]]'' causes a stem and leaf rot of ''Withania somnifera''.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Saroj | first1 = A. | last2 = Kumar | first2 = A. | last3 = Qamar | first3 = N. | last4 = Alam | first4 = M. | last5 = Singh | first5 = H. N. | last6 = Khaliq | first6 = A. | title = First report of wet rot of ''Withania somnifera'' caused by ''Choanephora cucurbitarum'' in India | journal = Plant Disease | year = 2012 | volume = 96 | issue = 2 | page = 293 | doi = 10.1094/PDIS-09-11-0801 | url = http://www.apsnet.org/publications/plantdisease/2012/February/Pages/96_2_293.2.aspx }}</ref> A [[treehopper]] feeds on the apical portions of the stem, making them rough and woody in appearance and brown in colour. The apical leaves are shed and the plant gradually dies.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Sharma, A. |author2=Pati, P. K. | title = First report of ''Withania somnifera'' (L.) Dunal, as a New Host of Cowbug (''Oxyrachis tarandus'', Fab.) In Plains of Punjab, Northern India | journal = World Applied Sciences Journal | year = 2011 | volume = 14 | issue = 9 | pages = 1344–1346 | url = http://idosi.org/wasj/wasj14%289%2911/13.pdf | format = pdf | issn = 1818-4952 }}</ref> The [[Tetranychus urticae|carmine red spider mite]] (''Tetranychus urticae'') is the most prevalent pest of the plant in India.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Sharma, A. |author2=Pati, P. K. | title = First record of the carmine spider mite, ''Tetranychus urticae'', infesting ''Withania somnifera'' in India | journal = Journal of Insect Science | issn = 1536-2442 | year = 2012 | volume = 12 | issue = 50 | pages = 1–4 | doi = 10.1673/031.012.5001 | url = http://www.insectscience.org/12.50/i1536-2442-12-50.pdf | format = pdf }}</ref>
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| − | ==Biochemistry==
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| − | {{unreferenced section|date=December 2015}}
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| − | The main chemical constituents are [[alkaloid]]s and [[steroid]]al [[lactone]]s. These include [[tropine]] and [[cuscohygrine]]. The leaves contain the steroidal lactones, [[withanolide]]s,<ref name=drugs/> notably [[withaferin A]], which was the first to be isolated from the plant.{{Citation needed|date=January 2014}}
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| − | Tropine is a derivative of tropane containing a hydroxyl group at third carbon. It is also called 3-tropanol.
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| − | Benzatropine and etybenzatropine are derivatives of tropine. It is also a building block of atropine, an anticholinergic drug prototypical of the muscarinic antagonist class. [[Cuscohygrine]] is a pyrrolidine alkaloid found in coca. It can also be extracted from plants of the family Solanaceae as well, including ''Atropa belladonna'' (deadly nightshade), ''Datura inoxia'' and ''Datura stramonium'' (jimson weed). Cuscohygrine usually comes with other, more potent alkaloids like atropine or cocaine.
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| − | Cuscohygrine (along with the related metabolite hygrine) was first isolated by Carl Liebermann in 1889 as an alkaloid accompanying cocaine in coca leaves (also known as Cusco-leaves). Cuscohygrine is an oil that can be distilled without decomposition only in vacuum. It is soluble in water. It also forms a crystalline trihydrate, which melts at 40–41 °C. There are also the alkaloids ashwagandhine, ashwaganidhine, and somniferine, all of which have been identified exclusively in the ashwagandha plant itself.{{citation needed|date=August 2017}}
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| − | == Traditional medicine ==
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| − | The plant, particularly its root powder, has been used for centuries in [[Ayurveda|traditional Indian medicine]].<ref name="drugs" /><ref name="Pandit" /> There is insufficient evidence that it has any medicinal effects.<ref name="drugs" /><ref name="mlp" /><ref name="mskcc">{{cite web|title=Ashwagandha|url=https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/ashwagandha|publisher=Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center|accessdate=26 May 2018|location=New York City|date=13 April 2018}}</ref> [[Dietary supplement]]s containing ashwagandha are marketed in the U.S., but there is insufficient evidence they provide any benefit.<ref name="drugs" />
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| | ==References== | | ==References== |
| | {{Reflist|30em}} | | {{Reflist|30em}} |
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| − | ==External links==
| + | [[Category:Solanaceae]] |
| − | {{Commons category inline|Withania somnifera}}
| + | [[Category:Plants for Keenan to eat]] |
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| − | {{Taxonbar|from=Q852660}}
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| − | [[Category:Withania|somnifera]] | |
| − | [[Category:Plants used in Ayurveda]] | |
| − | [[Category:Flora of Nepal]]
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