Asparagus racemosus
Asparagus racemosus is a species of asparagus native from Africa through southern Asia, including the Indian subcontinent, to northern Australia. It grows tall and prefers to take root in gravelly, rocky soils high up in piedmont plains, at elevation. It was botanically described in 1799.
Description
Asparagus racemosus is a climber having stems up to 4 m long. Its roots are both fibrous and tuberous.Shatavari has small pine-needle-like phylloclades that are uniform and shiny green. In July, it produces minute, white flowers on short, spiky stems, and in September it fruits, producing blackish-purple, globular berries. It has an adventitious root system with tuberous roots that measure about one metre in length, tapering at both ends, with roughly dozens on each plant.
Uses
Although shatavari is used in Indian traditional medicine, there is no high-quality clinical evidence to support using shatavari as a safe or effective therapy for any condition or disease. Studies of its effects on lactation have shown no significant effects. Its safety has not been well-studied, with two small trials finding no adverse effects in mothers or their babies.Australian Aboriginal uses
The roots of Asparagus racemosus are boiled and give a liquid used as an external wash to treat colds and other sicknesses, by the Aboriginal people of the Moyle River area in the Northern Territory.Chemical constituents
Constituents of shatavari include steroidal saponins, mucilage, and alkaloids. Asparagamine A, a polycyclic alkaloid, was isolated from the dried roots and subsequently synthesized to allow for the construction of analogs.Steroidal saponins, shatavaroside A, shatavaroside B, filiasparoside C, shatavarins, immunoside, and schidigerasaponin D5 were isolated from the roots of Asparagus racemosus.
Also present is the isoflavone 8-methoxy-5,6,4'-trihydroxyisoflavone 7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside.