Withania somnifera

About: Withania somnifera is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2116 publications have been published within this topic receiving 43404 citations. The topic is also known as: Ashwaganda & Indian ginseng.

Antioxidant enzyme gene expression in response to copper stress in Withania somnifera L.

Abstract: Production of reactive oxygen species is related with a number of environmental stress impacts in plants. The major impact is caused by the increasing concentration of metals in atmosphere. To understand the functions of antioxidant enzymes during metal (Cu) stress, we investigated the level of expression in catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) from leaf and root samples of Withania somnifera L. Healthy and uniformly in vitro grown plants were exposed to different concentrations (0, 25, 50, 100 and 200 μM) of Cu for 7 days in full-strength MS (Murashige and Skoog) liquid medium. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis was performed by taking three pairs of genes of CAT (RsCat, Catalase1, Cat1), SOD (SodCp, TaSOD1.2, MnSOD) and POX (Peroxidase, spa15, Apx4). Only one gene from CAT (RsCat) and SOD (MnSOD) exhibited high levels of gene expression under Cu excess, but no gene from POX was expressed satisfactory. This experiment supported a difference in gene expression in response to Cu treated and control tissue samples of plants. The techniques and primers used here to demonstrate such changes in Cu treated plant of W. somnifera can be used to examine the other medicinal plants in related to oxidative stress.

Withania somnifera shows a protective effect in monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension.

Abstract: Context: Withania somnifera (Linn.) Dunal (Solanaceae), a clinically used herbal drug in Ayurveda, shows potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, pro-apoptotic, and cardioprotective effects. However, the efficacy of W. somnifera in pulmonary hypertension (PH), a cardiopulmonary disorder, remains unexplored.Objective: The present study investigates the effect of W. somnifera root powder on monocrotaline (MCT)-induced PH in rats.Materials and methods: In preventive studies, W. somnifera root powder (50 and 100 mg/kg/d, p.o.) was administered from day 1 following single administration of MCT (60 mg/kg, s.c.) in Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats. After 35 d, right ventricular pressure (RVP) was measured in anesthetized rats. Various physical markers of right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH) were measured in isolated hearts. Markers of endothelial function, inflammation, and oxidative stress were estimated in lung homogenate. Vasoreactivity of pulmonary arteries was also studied. In therapeutic treatment, W. somnife...

A biologically active constituent of withania somnifera (ashwagandha) with antistress activity.

Abstract: In Ayurvedic medicine,Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) is well known for its anti-stress activity. A passive rat experimental model, where the animals are subjected to multiple stress of cold, hypoxia, restraint (C-H-R) has been developed to evaluate adaptogenic properties of various fractions of W. somnifera root extracts. We have carried out extraction of roots of W. somnifera with water and further isolated one of the active constituents called compound X and also tested its anti-stress activity in C-H-R model. The effect of administration of W. somnifera water suspension (360 mg/Kg bw) and compound X (20mg/Kg bw) on the fall and recovery of colonic temperature was noted. There was an increase of ≈38% and ≈54% in the time taken to attain Trec 23°C by rats given a single dose of fresh aqueous suspension and biologically active constituent (Compound X) respectively, where as decrease in the recovery time to attain Trec 37°C is ≈13% and ≈33% respectively, as compared to control group. It is clear that rats treated with the fresh aqueous suspension and compound X ofWithania somnifera, could withstand the multiple stress of C-H-R better than control group.

Cytotoxic Withanolides from the Roots of Indian Ginseng ( Withania somnifera).

Abstract: Withania somnifera, commonly known as “Indian ginseng” or “ashwagandha”, is popular as a functional food because of its diverse purported therapeutic efficacies including invigorating, improvement of cognitive ability, and stress release activities. Chemical investigation of the MeOH extract of W. somnifera roots combined with LC/MS-based analysis resulted in the identification of six new withanolides, withasilolides A–F (1–6), as well as seven known compounds (7–13). The structures of the new compounds were established by application of spectroscopic methods, including 1D and 2D NMR, HRMS, and ECD measurements. The cytotoxicity of the isolated compounds was evaluated against four human cancer cell lines (A549, SK-OV-3, SK-MEL-2, and HCT-15). Compounds 1, 2, 4, 6, and withanone (11) each showed cytotoxicity for one or more of the four cancer cell lines used.