Family Name : SOLANACEAE

Botanical Name : WITHANIA SOMNIFERA

Common Name : WITHANIA, WINTER CHERRY, INDIAN WINTER CHERRY, INDIAN GINSENG, ASHWAGANDHA

Part Used : ROOT, LEAVES

Habitat : Cultivated throughout drier parts of India.

Uses : It is Tonic, Abortifacient, Astringent, Deobstruent, Nervine, Aphrodisiac and Sedative. It is official Indian Pharmacoepeia. It is popularly known as Indian Ginseng. It gives vitality and vigour and helps in building greater endurance. It has been used in diseases such as rheumatism, leprosy and arthritis.
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. 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.

The product called "ashwagandha oil" is a combination of ashwagandha with almond oil and rose water designed to be used as a facial toner, therefore should not be consumed.