An Anti-depressant That's Good for You: Ashwagandha

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"Anxiety-reducing]-antidepressant activity of 'Ashwagandha ingredient]...

"The present study investigated the anoxiolytic 'anxiety-reducing] and antidepressant actions of the bioactive WSG 'extract] isolated from 'Ashwagandha] roots in 'animals.]

WSG 'in Ashwagandha] (20mg/kg*) was administered orally once daily for 5 days and the results were compared by those elicited by the 'drug] lorazepam**...for 'anxiety-reducing] studies, and by the tricyclic anti-depressant, imipramine 'drug] ...for the antidepressant investigations...

"WSG 'Ashagandha extract] induced an 'anxiety-reducing] comparable to that produced by lorazepam...'The Ashwagandha extract] also exhibited an antidepressant effect, comparable with that induced by imipramine***...in tests.

*20 milligrams per kilogram. A kilogram is 2.2 lbs.
**Lorazepam is a "controlled substance," meaning it can be habit-forming, and its list of side effects is extensive.
***Side effects of this drug include; "dry mouth, blurred vision, disturbance...of near vision, increased 'eye] pressure, confusion, hallucinations, disorientation, decreased memory...delusions, anxiety,...panic, insomnia...'the list goes on.]

From another report in J. Ethnopharmacol., "Ashwaganadha possess no toxicity up to a dose of 100mg/kg."

An Anti-depressant That's Good for You: Ashwagandha Bibliography

Phytomedicine, vol. 6, 2000. By: Drs. Bhattacharya & Ghosal, et al., Dept. of Pharmacology, Inst. of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu U., Varanasi, India.