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AsianScientist (Apr. 6, 2017) – A team of researchers at the University of Tsukuba have isolated the active compound from ashwagandha, a herb used in ayurveda to treat insomnia. Their findings have been published in PLOS ONE.
Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is a central herb in ayurveda, a traditional medicine practiced in India. As signified by its Latin name somnifera, meaning sleep-inducing, it has been recommended for sound sleep through centuries. Although scientific studies show that crude ashwagandha powder promotes sleep, the active component remains unknown.
In the present study, a team of researchers led by Dr. Mahesh K. Kaushik and Professor Yoshihiro Urade investigated the effect of various components of ashwagandha on sleep in mice by recording electroencephalogram and electromyography.
They found that water extract of ashwagandha leaf containing triethylene glycol (TEG) promoted non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep significantly and changed rapid eye movement (REM) sleep slightly, while the alcoholic extract containing active withanolides showed no effect on sleep.
The sleep induced by TEG was similar to normal sleep. Furthermore, commercially available TEG also increased the amount of NREM sleep, leading the researchers to conclude that TEG is the active component that induces physiologically sound sleep.
Sleeplessness and other sleep disorder such as restless leg syndrome are common complaints among the middle-aged population. Insomnia is one of the most common neuropsychiatric disorders, with an estimated incident of 10-15 percent in general population and 30-60 percent in elderly population. It is closely linked with certain other diseases including obesity, cardiovascular diseases, depression, anxiety, mania deficits etc.
Currently available synthetic drugs often show severe side effects. On the other hand, ashwagandha crude powder including the significant amount of TEG can be consumed for better sleep without any side effects.
However, the authors caution against using TEG as it is primarily used for industrial purpose and very little is known about its applicability and toxicity to the biological systems. Further studies will thus be needed to confirm the safety of TEG.
They team is currently evaluating the effect of TEG administration on stress, because ashwagandha is believed to mitigate stress and correct imbalance of various nervous systems. They also plan to identify the region of the brain targeted by TEG, how it crosses the blood-brain barrier and the mechanism through which TEG induces sleep.
The article can be found at: Kaushik et al. (2017) Triethylene Glycol, an Active Component of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) Leaves, is Responsible for Sleep Induction.
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Source: University of Tsukuba; Photo: Shutterstock.
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