Ashwagandha for Cancer: How It Helps Reduce Side Effects of Treatment

Ashwagandha has been found to be effective in the treatment of cancer in several ways:

• It reduces the spread of tumor cells, which prevents cancer from growing.
• It increases the effect of radiation therapy and reduces the side effects caused by it.
• It also reduces the side effects of drugs used in chemotherapy. But those drugs do not make any difference in the treatment of cancer.
• These effects have been studied in the laboratory on both human cancer cells and animals, but tests on human cells are limited. These experiments found that withaferin A is most active in the treatment of cancer when it is extracted from the roots or leaves of Ashwagandha.
• A 2008 study found that an extract from Ashwagandha leaves was very effective in killing a large variety of human cancer cells (bone, breast, lung, large intestine, skin, neck, fibrosarcoma, pancreas, and brain tumors). The withanone component of Ashwagandha has been shown to have cancer-killing properties.
• Ashwagandha acts as a radiosensitizer (drug that makes tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy) and chemotherapeutic agent (drugs that destroy rapidly growing cancer cells).

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Ashwagandha contributes to different types of cancer in the following ways:

Brain Cancer

Ashwagandha is very important for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases because its components rebuild nerve fibers and synapses (Synapse- the meeting point of two nerve systems) and axons (Axons- the part of the nerve cell through which nerve messages are carried from one place to another in the same nerve cell) and dendrites (Dendrites- the part of the nerve cell through which nerve messages are carried to another cell) and improve memory. Glioblastoma is the most common and difficult brain tumor to treat. Even after undergoing various treatments like surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, most of its patients die within a year. Ashwagandha and its components are responsible for increasing the glioma cells of the brain. The juice extracted from Ashwagandha and its components provide glioma therapy to cancer cells.

Breast Cancer
A comparative test was conducted on 100 patients suffering from breast cancer after treatment with chemotherapy and Withania somnifera or Ashwagandha and only chemotherapy. It was concluded that patients who took Ashwagandha felt less tired and those who did not take it felt more tired.

Prostate Cancer
Ashwagandha regulates several functionally important genes and signaling mechanisms involved in immune response, neuroinflammation, message transfer, cell signaling and cell cycle regulation. This makes Ashwagandha an effective chemical agent for treating prostate cancer.

Skin Cancer
A study was conducted by inducing skin cancer in Swiss albino mice and treating them with Ashwagandha root extract significantly reduced the number of skin lesions. Researchers speculate that the antioxidant and immunomodulatory components present in Ashwagandha extract are responsible for its therapeutic properties. Scientists believe that Ashwagandha is capable of controlling cancer and also helps in reducing the side effects of other cancer treatments such as radio and chemotherapy. According to Ayurveda, the properties of Ashwagandha have always been used as a wonderful herb that improves the body's immunity, due to which Ashwagandha is now also being used to treat cancer.

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Ashwagandha, an ancient Ayurvedic herb, can be helpful in cancer treatment. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties present in it help in increasing the body's immunity, which can improve the condition of cancer patients. It can be helpful in reducing the side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, such as fatigue, weakness and stress. Ashwagandha increases mental and physical strength by controlling the level of stress hormone (cortisol), giving patients the power to fight the disease. However, it is important to consult a doctor before consuming Ashwagandha during cancer treatment, so that it can be used correctly and safely.