Synonyms--- Asparagus rigidulus Nakai, Protasparagus racemosus (Willd.) Oberm. Satavar, Shatavari, Shatamull Chemical Name: Molecular Formula: Mol. Wt.: Molecular Structure: Asparagus racemosus is a species of asparagus common throughout India and the Himalayas. It has small pine-needle-like leaves that are uniform and shiny green. In July, it produces minute, white flowers on short, spiky stems, and in September it fruits blackish-purple, globular berries.It has an adventitious root system with tuberous roots that measures about one meter in length, tapering at both ends, and for each plant number roughly a hundred. A. racemosus has also been used successfully by some Ayurvedic practitioners for nervous disorders Shatawari has different names in the different Indian languages, such as Shatuli, Vrishya and other terms. In Nepal it is called Kurilo. The name Shatawari means "curer of a hundred diseases". Asparagus racemosus is an important medicinal plant of tropical and subtropical India. Its medicinal usage has been reported in the Indian and British Pharmacopoeias and in traditional systems of medicine such as Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha. Asparagus racemosus is mainly known for its phytoestrogenic properties. The plant has been shown to aid in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders and in alcohol abstinence- induced withdrawal symptoms. In Ayurveda, Asparagus racemosus has been described as a rasayana herb and has been used extensively as an adaptogen to increase the non-specific resistance of organisms against a variety of stresses. Besides use in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery, the plant also has potent antioxidant, immunostimulant, anti-dyspepsia and antitussive effects. The roots are used in Ayurvedic medicine, following a regimen of processing and drying. It is generally used as a uterine tonic, as a galactogogue (to improve breast milk), in hyperacidity, and as a general health tonic. It is also used as an anodyne and aphrodisiac. It is considered to be the main Ayurvedic rejuvenating female tonic for overall health and vitality. The reputed adaptogenic effects of Shatavari may be attributed to its concentrations of saponins, known as Shatavarins. In Sanskrit, Shatavari means "she who possesses a hundred husbands." Two new steroidal saponins, shatavaroside A and shatavaroside B together with a known saponin, filiasparoside C, were isolated from the roots of Asparagus racemosus. Five steroidal saponins, shatavarins VI-X, together with five known saponins, shatavarin I (or asparoside B), shatavarin IV (or asparinin B), shatavarin V, immunoside and schidigerasaponin D5 (or asparanin A), have been isolated from the roots of Asparagus racemosus. The Asparagus racemosus root extract used in dietary supplements is derived from the root of the plant Asparagus racemosus.