Ashwagandha root and leaf extract (withanolide glycosides)

This is the aqueous root-and-leaf article of ashwagandha, Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal (Solanaceae), and it is chemically a different product from the hydroalcoholic root-only extracts that dominate the market. Extracting root together with leaf in water pulls the polar fraction forward: withanolide glycosides and sitoindosides rather than free aglycones, together with a large oligosaccharide fraction that typically makes up a quarter to two-fifths of the powder. Assay is by HPLC against withanoside markers and reported on the dried basis. Free withaferin A (CAS 5119-48-2, C28H38O6, MW 470.60) is held low by specification because it is the most cytotoxic of the withanolides and buyers routinely cap it. Read the assay basis carefully when you compare offers, because the pharmacopoeial reference points are root-only. USP–NF sets Ashwagandha Root at not less than 0.3% withanolides and Ashwagandha Root Dry Extract at not less than 2.5% withanolides, calculated as the sum of aglycones (as withanolide A) and glycosides (as withanoside IV). A 10% withanolide-glycoside figure on a root-and-leaf water extract is not the same measurement as a 2.5% total-withanolide figure on a root extract, and neither number converts into the other. The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India covers the root drug (Ashvagandha). Note also that root-and-leaf material is treated differently from root-only material in several EU markets and by some retailer standards, so confirm the status in your destination market before you commit to artwork. The powder is free-flowing, light brown to brown, disperses in water and carries the bitter, faintly horse-like odour characteristic of the herb, so taste-masking matters in chewables and drink mixes. It runs well in capsules, tablets, stick packs, gummy slurries and evening or sports formats. Material is sourced from cultivated Withania in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Certified organic, Kosher and Halal versions are available, and every lot ships with a full CoA stating the plant-part ratio, solvent, carrier and assay method.