Ashwagandha

What Is Ashwagandha?

Ashwagandha is a small gray-green shrub that grows on dry ground across India, the Middle East and North Africa. It belongs to the nightshade family, alongside tomato, potato and pepper. Its Sanskrit name points at the horse-like smell of the fresh root. This extract is drawn from root and leaf.

How It Works in the Body

The compounds the extract is measured by are withanolides: steroidal lactones, meaning a four-ring carbon skeleton much like the body's own steroid molecules, with a lactone ring attached at one end.

Ashwagandha sits in the adaptogen category, a traditional grouping for plants taken to help the body stay level under load. It has been used that way in Ayurvedic practice for a very long time, most often as a root preparation.

What It Supports

• A calm, balanced mood: Ashwagandha supports a calm, balanced mood, which is its central use in Ayurveda.
• Restful sleep: The species name somnifera means sleep-bearing, and the root supports restful sleep.
• Normal immune function: Withanolides play a role in normal immune function.
• Steady footing: Adaptogens are used to help the body maintain its balance when demands run high.

Who It May Suit

People drawn to Ayurvedic botanicals, and anyone who wants a single herb rather than a formula. The capsule is plant-based. Worth knowing: this is a root-and-leaf extract rather than root alone, and ashwagandha is a nightshade, so anyone avoiding that plant family should pass.

Good To Know

This is a standardized extract, measured by withanolide content rather than by weight of plant. Talk with your healthcare provider before use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, if you take thyroid medication, a sedative or an immunosuppressant, or if you have a liver condition, since reports of liver injury with ashwagandha are uncommon but real.