A question about ashwagandha?

[Sydney75]

I was looking up this herb for interactions on the pharmacuetical database I subscribe to and read the following. I am concerned about any herb that could suppress dopamine, does the statement below mean that dopamine is also reduced which is not good effect for PD? I know many folks with and without PD taking this herb for anxiety, stress etc.

Anti-stress effects: Some researchers think ashwagandha has a so-called "anti-stressor" effect (4113). Preliminary research suggests ashwagandha suppresses stress-induced increases of dopamine receptors in the corpus striatum of the brain (3710). It also appears to reduce stress-induced increases of plasma corticosterone, blood urea nitrogen, and blood lactic acid (11301).

This may be the mechanism that calms.

Anxiolytic effects: Ashwagandha seems to have anxiolytic effects in laboratory research (32506), possibly by acting as a gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) mimetic agent (3710). Animal studies have demonstrated that ashwagandha can enhance serotonergic transmission through modulation of the postsynaptic serotonin (5-HT) receptors (95618).

Thanks!

-Syd

[park_bear]

I agree with your concern. This does not strike me as being favorable for people with Parkinson's:

"Preliminary research suggests ashwagandha suppresses stress-induced increases of dopamine receptors in the corpus striatum of the brain"

[Sydney75 in reply to park_bear]

I will do a little research.

[chartist]

And then there is this :

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Art

[Sydney75 in reply to chartist]

Thank you! This is recent and my HWP does get RLS.

[Muay]

Another way of looking at it is stress worsens PD, e.g. worsens tremor. So if ashwagandha can reduce stress, then it should be positive to PD. Apart from stress reduction, ashwagandha also reduces inflammation, specifically NF-KB. PwP has increased chronic inflammation, especially neuro-inflammation. So any intervention that can reduce inflammation is a positive.

[Hidden]

Re read the article...often these are ambiguous in their meaning...”some researchers think”....and “seems to have” both are non scientific terms...used by people who are happy with vague words...not beyond doubt answers....The biggest red flag...is the description “stress induced levels” but not normally produced levels...was this article written by a pharmaceutical researcher who look at plant based therapies as pure poison.

[Gcf51]

As I under stand stress is one of the causes of PD. And "Studies show ashwagandha can slow, stop, and possibly reverse certain types of nerve cell damage. That’s what leads to diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s. Still, almost all of the studies on ashwagandha and nerve cell damage in the brain have been done on animals or animal cells. webmd.com/vitamins-and-supp...

I find that you much ashwagandha causes me to itch (more like something crawling on me). I also find KSM-66 works better for me than regular extract. KSM-66 list some studies on their site ksm66ashwagandhaa.com/clini... But, they don't list a study specific to PD....

[Gcf51 in reply to Gcf51]

I find that HU replaces links with "Original Text" so I add a comment instead of editing. How much trust can you put on a study posted on a manufacturer's web site.... They say a gold standard, Who's gold standard?