Singh Narendra, Bhalla Mohit, de Jager Prashanti, Gilca Marilena
International Institute of Herbal Medicine, Gomtinagar, Lucknow - 226010, INDIA.
Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med. 2011;8(5 Suppl):208-13. doi: 10.4314/ajtcam.v8i5S.9. Epub 2011 Jul 3.
Withania somnifera (Ashawagandha) is very revered herb of the Indian Ayurvedic system of medicine as a Rasayana (tonic). It is used for various kinds of disease processes and specially as a nervine tonic. Considering these facts many scientific studies were carried out and its adaptogenic / anti-stress activities were studied in detail. In experimental models it increases the stamina of rats during swimming endurance test and prevented adrenal gland changes of ascorbic acid and cortisol content produce by swimming stress. Pretreatment with Withania somnifera (WS) showed significance protection against stress induced gastric ulcers. WS have anti-tumor effect on Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell carcinoma. It was also found effective against urethane induced lung-adenoma in mice. In some cases of uterine fibroids, dermatosarcoma, long term treatment with WS controlled the condition. It has a Cognition Promoting Effect and was useful in children with memory deficit and in old age people loss of memory. It was also found useful in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, Huntington's and Alzeimer's diseases. It has GABA mimetic effect and was shown to promote formation of dendrites. It has anxiolytic effect and improves energy levels and mitochondrial health. It is an anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic agent and was found useful in clinical cases of Rheumatoid and Osteoarthritis. Large scale studies are needed to prove its clinical efficacy in stress related disorders, neuronal disorders and cancers.
南非醉茄（Ashawagandha）是印度阿育吠陀医学体系中备受尊崇的一种草药，被视为一种滋补药。它被用于各种疾病的治疗过程，尤其作为一种神经滋补剂。鉴于这些事实，人们开展了许多科学研究，并对其适应原样/抗应激活性进行了详细研究。在实验模型中，它在游泳耐力测试中提高了大鼠的耐力，并防止了游泳应激导致的肾上腺中抗坏血酸和皮质醇含量的变化。用南非醉茄（WS）预处理对应激诱导的胃溃疡具有显著的保护作用。WS对中国仓鼠卵巢（CHO）细胞癌具有抗肿瘤作用。还发现它对小鼠的氨基甲酸乙酯诱导的肺腺瘤有效。在一些子宫肌瘤、皮肤肉瘤的病例中，长期使用WS可控制病情。它具有促进认知的作用，对有记忆缺陷的儿童和老年失忆者有益。还发现它对帕金森氏症、亨廷顿氏症和阿尔茨海默氏症等神经退行性疾病有用。它具有γ-氨基丁酸模拟效应，并被证明可促进树突的形成。它具有抗焦虑作用，并能提高能量水平和线粒体健康状况。它是一种抗炎和抗关节炎药物，在类风湿性关节炎和骨关节炎的临床病例中被证明是有用的。需要进行大规模研究来证明其在应激相关疾病、神经疾病和癌症方面的临床疗效。
