News wise — Eastern and Oriental medicine practitioners have long known that Ashwagandha, an herb commonly used in the 5,000-year old practice of Ayurvedic medicine, helps fight disease when used in combination with a liquid known as Anupana. Anupana may be derived from many different substances, from olive oil, to beer, to ghee. Each liquid is thought to have different properties, so an Ayurveda practitioner selects an Anupana that has the qualities that best fit a given situation. Traditionally, one method of administering Ashwagandha and milk was to boil them together.

A team of American researchers is examining whether drinking whole cows’ milk with the herb can increase the body’s white blood cells, which help boost immunity. They have found that it does.

This first-of-its-kind study was led by Heather Zwickey of the National College of Natural Medicine’s Helfgott Research Institute, Portland, OR, and her colleagues Jeremy Mikolai, Andrew Erlandsen, Andrew Murison, Will Gregory, Padma Raman-Caplan and Kimberly Brown. Mikolai, Erlandsen and Murison will be presenting the team’s findings during the 23rd annual meeting of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP; www.Naturopathic.org), being held August 13-16, 2008 in Phoenix, AZ. The full findings of the study are being published this fall.

Background:

According to Zwickey, investigations into herbal remedies rarely take into account how the herb has been administered throughout the tradition of the medicine’s life cycle, such as coupled or mixed with water, tea, or oil. While many consumers today may consume the herb with water or no liquid at all, researchers know that Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera (WS)), has typically been taken with an Anupana substance. It is believed to aid in the digestion and effectiveness of the plant.

To determine if an anupana substance would help enhance Ashwagandha’s immune properties, the research team used milk in a co-administered intervention along with the herb extract. Cows’ milk was chosen over goats’ milk and other potential substances because Ayurvedic medicine considers it to be a strengthening, nutritive driver for medicines. This made it an appropriate choice for an immunological study. A follow-up study will compare the results of the herb extract alone to the combination of herb with milk and to placebo controls.
» Read more: An Ancient Herb, Combined With Cows’ Milk, Can Boost the Body’s Immunity