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 present investigation explores the possibilities of using the root and leaf extracts of an important plant Withania somnifera targeting DM and to examine their hypoglycaemic and hypolipidaemic effects on Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Withania somnifera root extracts (WSREt) and leaf extracts (WSLEt) were orally administered daily to diabetic rats for eight weeks. After the treatment...

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 ...

Medicinal plants are valuable and used for the synthesis of numerous drugs. Indigenous plants are traditionally used against various ailments. Present work is based on the research conducted on methanolic crude plant extracts of three medicinal plants of family solanaceae i.e. leaves of Datura inoxia Mill., Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal and Solanum surrattense were screened to investigate the b...

As a part of our research programme of investigating some medicinal plants cultivated in Beni-Suef Governorate (Egypt) as anticancer agents. Bioassay-guided fractionation study using brine shrimp lethality and Ehrlich Ascites carcinoma assays revealed that the PE extract (PE) of Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal leaves retained most cytotoxic activity among other extracts. The total phenolics, flav...

Parkinson's disease remains as one of the most common debilitating neurodegenerative disorders. With the hopes of finding agents that can cure or reduce the pace of progression of the disease, we studied two traditional medicinal plants: Centella asiatica and Withania somnifera that have been explored in some recent studies. In agreement with the previous work on ethanol extracts of these two p...

The present study on effect of imidacloprid induced oxidative stress and its amelioration was carried out at definite time periods in different groups for 90 days on 48 layer birds of above 2 months age that were divided into six groups consisting of 8 in each. The birds were divided into group 1 was control, group 2 was treated with imidacloprid @ 200 ppm in feed, group 3 was treated with vita...