this study was carried out to investigate the effects of 1, 25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1, 25 (oh)2 d3) and root hydroalcoholic extract of withania somnifera (ws) root on performance, mineral retention, bone mineralisation and mechanical characteristics of broiler chicks. treatments were arranged factorially (2×3×2) consisted of a positive control with adequate ca and a negative control diet (...

We evaluated the cancer chemopreventive efficacy of the Withania somnifera root, which has been used in the Indian traditional medicine system for many centuries for the treatment of various ailments. Since, studies showing its mechanism-based cancer chemopreventive efficacy are limited, this was investigated in the present study. We studied the effect of dietary administration of Withania root...

Stress has been reported to be a causative factor for male infertility. Withania somnifera has been documented in Ayurveda and Unani medicine system for its stress-combating properties. However, limited scientific literature is available on this aspect of W. somnifera. We undertook the present study to understand the role of stress in male infertility, and to test the ability of W. somnifera to...

background and objective: temporal lobe epilepsy (tle) usually leads to memory deficit. in this study, we tried to assess the effect of withania somnifera extract on the impaired learning and memory in the intrahippocampal kainate model of tle in the rat. materials & methods: male rats (n=32) were divided into sham, extract+sham, kainite, and kainite+extract. for induction of epilepsy, uni...

The immune system evolved to protect organisms from an infinite variety of disease-causing agents but to avoid harmful responses to self. However, such a powerf~l defense mechanism requires regulation. Immune regulation includes homeostatic and cellmediated targeted mechanisms to the activation, differentiation and function of antigen-triggered immuno-competent cells and irnmunoregulatory cells...

A total of two new (1, 2) and four known (3-6) withanolides were isolated from the whole plant of Withania somnifera. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic techniques and were characterized as 6alpha,7alpha-epoxy-3beta,5alpha,20beta-trihydroxy-1-oxowitha-24-enolide (1), 5beta,6beta-epoxy-4beta,17alpha,27-trihydroxy-1-oxowitha-2,24-dienolide (2), withaferin-A (3), 2,3-di...

Antioxidant activity of active principles of Withania somnifera, consisting of equimolar concentrations of sitoindosides VII-X and withaferin A, was investigated for their effects on rat brain frontal cortical and striatal concentrations of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX). Results were compared with effects induced by deprenyl, an agent with well docu...

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) has been described in traditional Indian Ayurvedic medicine as an aphrodisiac that can be used to treat male sexual dysfunction and infertility. This pilot study was conducted to evaluate the spermatogenic activity of Ashwagandha root extract in oligospermic patients. Forty-six male patients with oligospermia (sperm count < 20 million/mL semen) were enrolled and...

The increasing prevalence of environmental pollution, especially soil contamination with heavy metals has led to their uptake in the human food chains through plant parts. Accumulation and magnification of heavy metals in human tissues through consumption of herbal remedies can cause hazardous impacts on health. Therefore, chemical profiling of nine heavy metals (Mn, Cr, Pb, Fe, Cd, Co, Zn, Ni ...