Asian Pac. J. Health Sci., 2019; 6(3):16-17 e-ISSN: 2349-0659, p-ISSN: 2350-0964 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Doomra and Goyal Asian Pacific Journal of Health Sciences, 2019;6(3):16-17 Page 16 www.apjhs.com Document heading doi: 10.21276/apjhs.2019.6.3.4 Review Article Withania somnifera as an antistress herb R Doomra 1 *, A Goyal 2 1 HOD, Department of Pharmacology, Manav Rachna Dental College, Sector-43, Delhi-Surajkund Road, Faridabad, Haryana, India 2 HOD, Department of Biochemistry, Manav Rachna Dental College, Sector-43, Delhi-Surajkund Road, Faridabad, Haryana, India Received: 10-08-2019 / Revised: 29-8-2019 / Accepted: 25-09-2019 ABSTRACT Stress, anxiety and depression have become common terms and are being used by todays’ society so frequently that it appears as though nearly everyone has been affected by the same in some or the other way, irrespective of the age, sex, occupation or socio-economic status. The management of stress and anxiety therefore has become one of the important concerns, as finding peace and happiness is what all are striving for in this stressed-out era, and wherever people see a ray of hope to alleviate stress, the society is ready to go for the same. Stress is the cause of various illnesses ranging from psychiatric to chronic diseases like hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Studies have shown that some ayurvedic herbs act like adaptogens which increase resistance during stress. The adaptogens improve the response to stress and helps an individual to adapt by maintaining internal homeostasis in stressful situation. Withania somnifera, also known as Ashwagandha has been mentioned in Ayurveda and indigenous medical system for over 3000 years. It is also known as the Indian ginseng, as it is comparable to Panax Ginseng as an anti-stress herb. Key words: Withania somnifera, stress, anxiety, adaptogen, Ashwagandha. © The Author(s). 2019 Open Access. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution. The full terms of this license are available at our website and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ INTRODUCTION Ashwagandha, known as Withania somnifera, is also referred to as the ‘royal herb’, as it influences multiple functions in the body. Also known as the ‘Indian ginseng’, it belongs to the Solanaceae family. In Ayurveda, Withania somnifera is also known as ‘rasayana’ as it rejuvenates both mental and physical health.[1] Withania somnifera has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, immune- modulating, sedative, anti-tumour, neuroprotective and cardioprotective properties. This review is limited to the published articles in English language available on internet. Animal experiments and clinical trials have demonstrated the therapeutic use of Ashwagandha for anxiety, neurological disorders and Parkinson’s disease. Ashwagandha has chemo-preventive properties, which are of benefit in patients undergoing radiation and chemotherapy. P Additionally, it has also demonstrated the ability to decrease reactive oxygen species and as an *Correspondence R. Doomra HOD, Department of Pharmacology, Manav Rachna Dental College, Sector-43, Delhi-Surajkund Road, Faridabad, Haryana,India E-mail: reena.mrdc@mrei.ac.in adaptogen for patients with nervous exhaustion, insomnia and fatigue due to stress.Prolonged exposure to stress can affect the physical and mental health of a person, which are responsible for fatigue, depression, and systemic ailments like hypertension, hyperglycaemia, peptic ulcer and immunosuppression.[2] Withania somnifera The biologically active chemical constituents are steroidal lactones (withanolides, withaferins), alkaloids and saponins. Withanolides have a steroidal nucleus with a side chain and six membered lactone ring. Withaferin A, D and Withanolide G are the main withanolides having pharmacologic activity.[3] The adaptogens help an individual to adapt to stressful situations, and Withania somnifera has several properties like adaptogens [4] and immunomodulatory action [5]. Withania somnifera enhances type-I immune response and cytokine production, and modulating the acute reactants. Alcoholic extract of Withania somnifera(roots and seeds) dissolved in normal saline was administered to mice (100 mg/kg intraperitoneal, single dose) in a swimming performance test in water at 28’-30’ C. It was observed that the Withania somnifera group showed an increase in the swimming time when compared to control, which was nearly double. Withania somnifera induced a state of