Question:
Cortisol is implicated in PTSD. Ashwaganda is a herb that stabilizes cortisol and makes you feel less stressed. Experiment with the dose. Too much makes you sleepy but it has no other side effects. Over the long term, it makes you a lot calmer. Estelle
Response:
>Cortisol is implicated in PTSD. Ashwaganda is a herb that stabilizes >cortisol >and makes you feel less stressed. Experiment with the dose. Too much makes >you sleepy but it has no other side effects. Over the long term, it makes >you >a lot calmer.
Can you take it along with regular meds? Best, Luanne http://members.aol.com/luannep/adoption.htm "Even when I thought I was cool, I knew I really wasn’t." ’William Miller’ from "Almost Famous"
Response:
"LuanneP" <luan…@aol.comment> wrote in message
news:20020710102603.01077.00003378@mb-cu.aol.com… > >Cortisol is implicated in PTSD. Ashwaganda is a herb that stabilizes > >cortisol > >and makes you feel less stressed. Experiment with the dose. Too much makes > >you sleepy but it has no other side effects. Over the long term, it makes > >you > >a lot calmer. > Can you take it along with regular meds? > Best, > Luanne
I’ve looked long and hard, and I haven’t found any evidence for interactions of this herb with any other medication, either prescribed, over the counter, or naturopathic. That said, when you add any new treatment, you should pay attention to your body, and listen to what it says to you. We all differ. Ashwagandha is Witheria somniferum (somniferum means "sleep creator", in Latin), commonly known as winter cherry. In Ayurvedic medicine, Ashwagandha is one of the core treatments for a variety of ailments. There really is not any parallel to Western medicine, so I’ll leave that up to you, if you want to follow up on the philosophy of Ayurveda itself. There is a fairly substantial body of published work on Medline which demonstrates that this herb clearly has stress-protective properties, and other beneficial effects. I’ve collected a few of them here. Regards, Larry Phytother Res 2001 Sep;15(6):544-8 Neuroprotective effects of Withania somnifera Dunn. in hippocampal sub-regions of female albino rat. Jain S, Shukla SD, Sharma K, Bhatnagar M. Department of Zoology, University College of Science, M.L. Sukhadia University, Udaipur 313001, India. The neuroprotective effects of W. somnifera were studied on stressed adult female Swiss albino rats. Experimental rats were subjected to immobilization stress for 14 h and were treated with a root powder extract of W. somnifera available as Stresscom capsules (Dabur India Ltd). Control rats were maintained in completely, non stressed conditions. Thionin stained serial coronal sections (7 microm) of brain passing through the hippocampal region of stressed rats (E(1) group) demonstrated 85% degenerating cells (dark cells and pyknotic cells) in the CA(2) and CA(3) sub-areas. Treatment with W. somnifera root powder extract significantly reduced (80%) the number of degenerating cells in both the areas. The study thus demonstrates the antistress neuroprotective effects of W. somnifera. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Phytother Res 2001 Jun;15(4):311-8 Adaptogenic activity of a novel, withanolide-free aqueous fraction from the roots of Withania somnifera Dun. Singh B, Saxena AK, Chandan BK, Gupta DK, Bhutani KK, Anand KK. Departments of Pharmacology and Natural Products Chemistry, Regional Research Laboratory, Canal Road, Jammu–Tawi 180 001, India. r…@nde.vsnl.net.in The practitioners of the traditional Indian system of medicine regard Withania somnifera Dun. as the ‘Indian ginseng’. A new withanolide-free aqueous fraction was isolated from the roots of this plant and was evaluated for putative antistress activity against a battery of tests such as hypoxia time, antifatigue effect, swimming performance time, swimming induced gastric ulceration and hypothermia, immobilization induced gastric ulceration, autoanalgesia and biochemical changes in the adrenal glands. This bioactive fraction exhibited significant antistress activity in a dose-related manner in all the parameters studied. The extract of Withania somnifera root (a commercial preparation available locally) was used to compare the results. A preliminary acute toxicity study in mice showed a good margin of safety. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Phytomedicine 2000 Dec;7(6):463-9 Anxiolytic-antidepressant activity of Withania somnifera glycowithanolides: an experimental study. Bhattacharya SK, Bhattacharya A, Sairam K, Ghosal S. Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. sa…@banaras.ernet.in The roots of Withania somnifera (WS) are used extensively in Ayurveda, the classical Indian system of medicine, and WS is categorized as a rasayana, which are used to promote physical and mental health, to provide defence against disease and adverse environmental factors and to arrest the aging process. WS has been used to stabilize mood in patients with behavioural disturbances. The present study investigated the anxiolytic and antidepressant actions of the bioactive glycowithanolides (WSG), isolated from WS roots, in rats. WSG (20 and 50 mg/kg) was administered orally once daily for 5 days and the results were compared by those elicited by the benzodiazepine lorazepam (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.) for anxiolytic studies, and by the tricyclic anti-depressant, imipramine (10 mg/kg, i.p.), for the antidepressant investigations. Both these standard drugs were administered once, 30 min prior to the tests. WSG induced an anxiolytic effect, comparable to that produced by lorazepam, in the elevated plus-maze, social interaction and feeding latency in an unfamiliar environment, tests. Further, both WSG and lorazepam, reduced rat brain levels of tribulin, an endocoid marker of clinical anxiety, when the levels were increased following administration of the anxiogenic agent, pentylenetetrazole. WSG also exhibited an antidepressant effect, comparable with that induced by imipramine, in the forced swim-induced ‘behavioural despair’ and ‘learned helplessness’ tests. The investigations support the use of WS as a mood stabilizer in clinical conditions of anxiety and depression in Ayurveda. J Ethnopharmacol 2001 Jan;74(1):1-6 Anti-oxidant effect of Withania somnifera glycowithanolides in chronic footshock stress-induced perturbations of oxidative free radical scavenging enzymes and lipid peroxidation in rat frontal cortex and striatum. Bhattacharya A, Ghosal S, Bhattacharya SK. Drug Research and Development Centre, Calcutta, India. The antioxidant activity of Withania somnifera (WS) glycowithanolides was assessed in chronic footshock stress induced changes in rat brain frontal cortex and striatum. The stress procedure, given once daily for 21 days, induced an increase in superoxide dismutase (SOD) and lipid peroxidation (LPO) activity, with concomitant decrease in catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activities in both the brain regions. WS glycowithanolides (WSG), administered orally 1 h prior to the stress procedure for 21 days, in the doses of 10, 20 and 50 mg/kg, induced a dose-related reversal of the stress effects. Thus, WSG tended to normalise the augmented SOD and LPO activities and enhanced the activities of CAT and GPX. The results indicate that, at least part of chronic stress-induced pathology may be due to oxidative stress, which is mitigated by WSG, lending support to the clinical use of the plant as an antistress adaptogen. Altern Med Rev 2000 Aug;5(4):334-46 Scientific basis for the therapeutic use of Withania somnifera (ashwagandha): a review. Mishra LC, Singh BB, Dagenais S. Los Angeles College of Chiropractic (LACC), 16200 E Amber Valley Dr., Whittier, CA 90609-1166. lakshmimis…@lacc.edu OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to review the literature regarding Withania somnifera (ashwagandha, WS) a commonly used herb in Ayurvedic medicine. Specifically, the literature was reviewed for articles pertaining to chemical properties, therapeutic benefits, and toxicity. DESIGN: This review is in a narrative format and consists of all publications relevant to ashwagandha that were identified by the authors through a systematic search of major computerized medical databases; no statistical pooling of results or evaluation of the quality of the studies was performed due to the widely different methods employed by each study. RESULTS: Studies indicate ashwagandha possesses anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antistress, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, hemopoietic, and rejuvenating properties. It also appears to exert a positive influence on the endocrine, cardiopulmonary, and central nervous systems. The mechanisms of action for these properties are not fully understood. Toxicity studies reveal that ashwagandha appears to be a safe compound. CONCLUSION: Preliminary studies have found various constituents of ashwagandha exhibit a variety of therapeutic effects with little or no associated toxicity. These results are very encouraging and indicate this herb should be studied more extensively to confirm these results and reveal other potential therapeutic effects. Clinical trials using ashwagandha for a variety of conditions should also be conducted. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 1998 Apr;42(2):299-302 Subacute toxicity study of the combination of ginseng (Panax ginseng) and ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) in rats: a safety assessment. Aphale AA, Chhibba AD, Kumbhakarna NR, Mateenuddin M, Dahat SH. Department of Pharmacology, Government Medical College, Aurangabad. Ginseng (Panax ginseng) and Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) are widely used as geriatric tonics. Both individually have not shown any toxicity on long term administration. Study was planned to assess the safety of the combination by doing subacute toxicity study in rats with 90 days oral administration using three doses. Food consumption, body weight, haematological, biochemical and histopathological parameters were studied. There was significant increase in body weight, food consumption and liver weight, and improved hematopoiesis was observed. Brain, heart, lung, liver, spleen, kidneys, stomach, testis and ovaries were normal on gross examination and histopathologically. Subacute toxicity studies in rats did not reveal any toxicity. Indian J Exp Biol 1997 Mar;35(3):236-9 Antioxidant activity of glycowithanolides from Withania somnifera. Bhattacharya SK, Satyan KS, Ghosal S. Department of Pharmacology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. Antioxidant activity of active principles of Withania somnifera, consisting of equimolar concentrations … read more »
Response:
Larry, would you use Ashwaganda in a tea or is there some other method of consumption that can be used to measure your dose? A sprinkle of it on your Wheaties or something like that? I’m curious about it since I haven’t tried it but have tried other herbal remedies to help with sleep consistency (valerian, catnip, etc.) Yes, catnip…I know it wires cats but it is supposed to be calming for us humans. Thanks in advance, Kristine (hey Lu!)
Response:
"BaliKris" <balik…@aol.comzipspam> wrote in message
news:20020710145706.15207.00002703@mb-fh.aol.com… > Larry, would you use Ashwaganda in a tea or is there some other method of > consumption that can be used to measure your dose? A sprinkle of it on your > Wheaties or something like that? I’m curious about it since I haven’t tried it > but have tried other herbal remedies to help with sleep consistency (valerian, > catnip, etc.) Yes, catnip…I know it wires cats but it is supposed to be > calming for us humans. > Thanks in advance, > Kristine (hey Lu!)
There are standardized capsules/tablets, so I’d recommend that form, if only for the consistency of dose. A typical cap contains 300 mg standardized to contain 1.5% withanolides. BTW, does the catnip make you purr? That would be cool.
Response:
"BaliKris" <balik…@aol.comzipspam> wrote in message
news:20020710145706.15207.00002703@mb-fh.aol.com… > Larry, would you use Ashwaganda in a tea or is there some other method of > consumption that can be used to measure your dose? A sprinkle of it on your > Wheaties or something like that? I’m curious about it since I haven’t tried it > but have tried other herbal remedies to help with sleep consistency (valerian, > catnip, etc.) Yes, catnip…I know it wires cats but it is supposed to be > calming for us humans. > Thanks in advance, > Kristine (hey Lu!)
I’m not endorsing a product or supplier, but here’s an example: http://www.hilife-vitamins.com/solgar-3398404104.html
Response:
Larry inquired: "BTW, does the catnip make you purr? That would be cool." Nahhhh, didn’t do a darn thing to make me, or my husband for that matter, purr. I may have hawked up a hairball or two afterwards, but it didn’t help with my sleep, the furry throat itched too much. =-p
Response:
"BaliKris" <balik…@aol.comzipspam> wrote in message
news:20020710204411.01726.00000144@mb-fi.aol.com… > Larry inquired: "BTW, does the catnip make you purr? That would be cool." > Nahhhh, didn’t do a darn thing to make me, or my husband for that matter, purr. > I may have hawked up a hairball or two afterwards, but it didn’t help with my > sleep, the furry throat itched too much. =-p
Sorry to hear about the hairballs. My image of a woman purring herself to sleep was much more appealing. Lar
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