Ajagandha

From CopperWiki

Ajagandha consists of the seeds of Cleome gynandra Linn. Syn. Gynandropsis gynandra (Linn.) Briquet (Fam. Capparidaceae); a strong smelling, somewhat foetid herb, 0.6 - 1 m high, found abundantly throughout warmer parts of India.

[edit] DESCRIPTION

• Macroscopic
  

Seeds, small, 1-2 mm in diameter, kidney shaped, surface rough, dark brown or black.

• Microscopic
  

Dark brown, oily; under microscope shows a number of fragments of epidermis of testa consisting of thin-walled, polygonal cells; groups of cells, resembling like stone cells, reddish-brown with non-lignified walls; a large number of oval, rounded or irregularly shaped protein bodies; starch and crystals absent.

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), also known as Indian ginseng, Winter cherry, Ajagandha, Kanaje Hindi and Samm Al Ferakh, is a plant in Solanaceae or nightshade family.

Ashwagandha shrub bears yellow flowers and red fruit, though its fruit is berry-like in size and shape. It grows prolifically in India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

All parts of the plant are used in herbal medicine. In Ayurveda, the fresh roots are sometimes boiled in milk, prior to drying, in order to leach out undesirable constituents. The berries are used as a substitute for rennet, to coagulate milk in cheese making.

Ashwagandha in Sanskrit means "horse's smell", probably originating from the odor of its root which resembles that of sweaty horse.

[edit] Usage

The species name somnifera means "sleep-bearing" in Latin, indicating it was considered a sedative, but it has been also used for sexual vitality and as an adaptogen. Some herbalists refer to ashwagandha as Indian ginseng, since it is used in ayurvedic medicine in a way similar to that ginseng is used in traditional Chinese medicine.

We carry dried roots and powder of Ashwagandha for medical applications.

[edit] See Also

• Turmeric
• Neem
• Basil
• Ayurveda

[edit] References