Ashwagandha: an anti-cancer, anti-arthritis, anti-ulcer 'adaptogen.'

Considered the oldest healing science in existence, in one scientific study after another, Ayurvedic herbal medicines are proving their tremendous value in protecting mankind from itself -- from the toxic industrialized environment and frenzied societies we have created and their effects, in turn, on us.

Yet there is hope. A great deal of it. Not only are some ecosystems being protected (and restored) and non-frantic lifestyles being adopted, but ancient wisdom from the dawn of civilization is also being applied to modern medicine, and with some astounding results.

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What are adaptogens and why are they important? According to N. Singh, et al., in an article which appeared in the International Journal of Crude Drug Research, an adaptogen is any drug, or compound, which increases the "SNIR" (state of non-specifically-increased resistance), or NSR (non-specific resistance) to illness/disease-causing factors.

Singh informs us that, for a substance to be an adaptogen, it must meet the following criteria: (a) It should be relatively harmless and cause minimal disruption in the physiological functions of an organism; (b) Its action should be non-specific, increasing resistance to adverse physical, chemical and biological factors; and (c) It must have a normalizing action. I.I. Brekhman and I.V. Dardymov (1969) would add that (d) It should have a wide range of regulatory activity which only manifests its action against the actual challenge to the system (be it a particular disease or disease-causing agent).

Ashwagandha, an extract from the roots and leaves of the plant Withania somnifera (fam. Solanaceae), is just such an adaptogen, with proven effects in the prevention and treatment of cancer, arthritis, ulcers, and hypertension, and, in general, preventing the action of psychological and physical stress on the human organism.

Cancer suppression. In 1970, Shohat and colleagues found that two isolated components of Ashwagandha, Withaferin A and Withanolide E, "inhibit (prevent) tumor growth" in Swiss-albino and BDF1 mice, exhibiting a strong immunosuppressive effect by stopping cancerous cell division in its tracks.

More recently, P. Uma Devi and coworkers (1992) attempted to ascertain "the antitumor activity of Ashwagandha root and to determine an effective drug dose which can be used without serious [...] side effects."

They found that administration of an alcohol extract of the plant resulted in complete remission of tumor growth in 25 percent of treated animals and more than 50 percent regression (reversal) of tumor growth in 63 percent of the animals, and without mortality, and any side effects such as diarrhea or weight loss.

Anti-inflammation/anti-arthritis. Al-Hindawi, et al. (1989), observed a "significant effect" of Ashwagandha on the acute inflammatory response in animals. Animals which received the extract revealed a 65 percent inhibition in edema (swelling); it took twice the dose of aspirin to equal this activity.

In 1992, Al-Hindawi and colleagues looked at how well the botanical could reduce inflammation-related effects in treated animals. By day 49, treatment resulted in an 89 percent reduction in arthritic score as compared to those which received no treatment. This was nearly double the effect (44 percent) produced by treatment with hydrocortisone.

Anti-ulcer. In 1987, S.K. Battacharya and coworkers investigated the extract's effects in relation to stress-induced gastric ulcers. They found that daily administration, for a period of four days prior to ulcer induction, significantly reduced the incidence, total number and severity of ulcers formed compared with salt-water-placebo-treated controls. Y.P. Sahni and D.N. Srivastava observed similar results in 1993 in terms of number of ulcers formed and the severity of those which occurred.

Ashwagandha, which is typically taken two times daily in 300 mg doses, has also been shown to be: anti-bacterial (Kazmi, 1991); anti-hypertensive (Ahumada, 1991); learning and memory-enhancing (Kulkarni and Verma, 1992); helpful for symptoms of chronic fatigue (Jayaram, 1993); anti-depressive (Singh, 1989); beneficial for osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis (Kulkarni, 1992); and stimulatory for lactation (Sholapurkar, 1986).

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