Ashwagandha, clad by the vernacular name’s Indian ginseng, Indian winter cherry or poison gooseberry is a powerful remedy for bolstering immunity. This herb is a potent adaptogen i.e. it’s a non-toxic herb that helps to normalize all bodily functions, by acting on the HPA axis and therefore the neuroendocrine system. Ashwagandha goes by the botanical name Withania somnifera. The word ‘somnifera’ means ‘sleep-inducive’ which implies that this drug may be a potent sedative and helps to treats conditions like insomnia and other sleep disorders. Being mostly native to India, and a few parts of Mediterranean and Africa, the ashwagandha shrub is perennial in nature and grows to a height of 1.5 metres. The leaves are ovate, elliptic and dull greenish in colour. The plant bears small bell-shaped yellow flowers that slowly turns into an orangish-red fruit on ripening. Ashwagandha is widely mentioned in various traditional textbooks of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Chinese medicine as a result of its big selection of health benefits. Ancient ayurvedic scriptures named this plant ashwagandha which implies ‘odour of the horse’ as its roots smell like horse urine. It’s also referred to as Ashvakandika, Asgandh, Gandhapatri and Palashaparni. The synonyms are associated with a horse since the herb is a potent aphrodisiac and it’s said to supply the stamina of a horse.