Withania somnifera, from ayurvedic medicine to improvement of mental health

August 2017

Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal is called in Sanskrit Ashwagandha, which means "smells like a horse" in relation to the bitterly bitter smell that emanates the root just harvested, but also the custom to make horses eat it to give them strength. It has a long history of use in the traditional ayurvedic medicine system for improving mental health, including memory and cognitive abilities. Indian researchers have conducted a study to evaluate the efficiency and safety of the Withania somnifera extract on 50 adults with mild cognitive decline, a clinical condition that may precede Alzheimer's disease. Compared with the placebo, Withania somnifera extract produced a significant improvement in the results of several cognitive tests designed to evaluate memory, performance, attention, and processing speed information, suggesting its possible use for treating cognitive and Alzheimer's related brain and memory decay.

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