MOH Holdings Pte Ltd., 1 Maritime Square, 099253, Singapore, Singapore.
Institute of Mental Health, 10 Buangkok View, 539747, Singapore, Singapore.
Phytother Res. 2020 Mar;34(3):583-590. doi: 10.1002/ptr.6552. Epub 2019 Nov 19.
Many developed countries are experiencing a rapidly "greying" population, and cognitive decline is common in the elderly. There is no cure for dementia, and pharmacotherapy options to treat cognitive dysfunction provide limited symptomatic improvements. Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha), a popular herb highly valued in Ayurvedic medicine, has often been used to aid memory and cognition. This systematic review thus aimed to evaluate the clinical evidence base and investigate the potential role of W. somnifera in managing cognitive dysfunction. Using the following keywords [withania somnifera OR indian ginseng OR Ashwagandha OR winter cherry] AND [brain OR cognit* OR mental OR dementia OR memory], a comprehensive search of PubMed, EMBASE, Medline, PsycINFO and Clinicaltrials.gov databases found five clinical studies that met the study's eligibility criteria. Overall, there is some early clinical evidence, in the form of randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trials, to support the cognitive benefits of W. somnifera supplementation. However, a rather heterogeneous study population was sampled, including older adults with mild cognitive impairment and adults with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or bipolar disorder. In most instances, W. somnifera extract improved performance on cognitive tasks, executive function, attention, and reaction time. It also appears to be well tolerated, with good adherence and minimal side effects.
许多发达国家正经历着人口的快速“老龄化”，认知能力下降在老年人中很常见。痴呆症无法治愈，治疗认知功能障碍的药物治疗选择只能提供有限的症状改善。睡茄（印度人参），一种在印度阿育吠陀医学中备受推崇的流行草药，常被用于辅助记忆和认知。因此，本系统评价旨在评估临床证据基础，并研究睡茄在治疗认知功能障碍方面的潜在作用。使用以下关键词 [withania somnifera OR indian ginseng OR Ashwagandha OR winter cherry] AND [brain OR cognit* OR mental OR dementia OR memory]，对 PubMed、EMBASE、Medline、PsycINFO 和 Clinicaltrials.gov 数据库进行全面检索，共找到符合研究标准的五项临床研究。总的来说，有一些早期的临床证据，以随机、安慰剂对照、双盲试验的形式，支持睡茄补充对认知的益处。然而，研究对象的样本具有相当大的异质性，包括有轻度认知障碍的老年人和患有精神分裂症、分裂情感障碍或双相情感障碍的成年人。在大多数情况下，睡茄提取物可改善认知任务、执行功能、注意力和反应时间的表现。它似乎也具有良好的耐受性，依从性好，副作用极小。
