Withania somnifera 1:1 extract: ashwagandha in liquid form
Sanskrit gave this plant its best known name. Ashva means horse and gandha means smell, a nod to the strong, horsey odour of the root. That root is the part Ayurveda has leaned on for centuries, sometimes together with the leaf. The botanical name carries a second clue: somnifera is Latin for sleep bringing. Chemists have described dozens of withanolides in the species, withaferin A among them, alongside alkaloids and sitoindosides. English speaking growers also sell it as Indian ginseng or winter cherry.
The plant itself is a modest shrub of the nightshade family, reaching 35 to 75 centimetres, its branches spreading out from one central stem. The leaves are dull green, elliptic and around ten to twelve centimetres long, and the flowers are small, green and bell shaped. Ripe berries turn orange red. Ashwagandha grows wild across the Middle East, North Africa, southern Europe, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, and is farmed in the drier parts of India as well as in Nepal, Sri Lanka, China and Yemen.
Dosing and use
Shake the bottle briefly and measure a few drops into a glass of water, a cup of tea or some fruit juice, or take them under the tongue. Start small and see how you get on before taking more. A 1:1 ratio stays close to the herb itself; a stronger extract such as 2.5:1 packs more than twice as much plant material into the same volume of liquid.
Storage and precautions
Keep the bottle tightly closed in a cool, dry, dark place and out of reach of children. Not suitable for anyone under 18. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or taking medication, talk to your doctor first. This is a botanical product rather than a medicine, and how you use it remains your own responsibility. Avalon Magic Plants also stocks ashwagandha as a 50 gram loose herb, and the same category holds dozens of other 1:1 extracts, among them Valeriana officinalis, Passiflora incarnata, Zingiber officinale and Matricaria chamomilla. Every order leaves the building in discreet packaging.
