Yeast can now produce withanolides found in ashwagandha
A Northeastern University team has figured out how to get yeast to produce withanolides, the main active ingredients in ashwagandha (that trendy stress-relief herb).
Instead of growing whole plants, they inserted six important ashwagandha genes into yeast cells, which then started making these valuable compounds within days.
Study could lead to better understanding of ashwagandha's benefits
This new method could make it way easier and faster to produce withanolides for supplements or research—no farming required.
Jing-Ke Weng, a bioengineer at Northeastern University and the study's corresponding author, says scaling up could open doors for drug development and help scientists study ashwagandha's benefits more closely.
With ashwagandha's popularity on the rise, this could be a real game changer for natural remedies.