Withanolide from Ashwagandha plant

Withanolides are a group of ergostane skeletal phytosteroids. Withanolides are structurally distinct from tropane / nortropane alkaloids (usually found in Solanaceae plants) and are produced only by a few genera within Solanaceae. Withania somnifera contains many structurally diverse withanolides in its leaves as well as roots. Withanolides are synthesized in leaves and transported to roots like the tropane alkaloids, a group of bioactive secondary metabolites in Solanaceae members known to be mostly synthesized in roots and transported to leaves for storage.

Types of withanolides
There are a number of withanolides including 27-hydroxy withanone, 17-hydroxy withaferin A, 17-hydroxy-27-deoxy withaferin A, withaferin A, withanolide D, 27-hydroxy withanolide B, withanolide A, withanone and 27-deoxywithaferin A.

Withanolides in Tubocapsicum anomalum
Several withanolides are found in the stems, roots, and leaves of Tubocapsicum anomalum.

Withania kills leukemia cells in vitro
Withanolide induces apoptosis in HL-60 leukemia cells via mitochondria mediated cytochrome c release and caspase activation.
Chem Biol Interact. 2007 April. Senthil V, Ramadevi S, Venkatakrishnan V, Giridharan P, Lakshmi BS, Vishwakarma RA, Balakrishnan A.
Centre For Biotechnology, Anna University, Chennai 600025, Tamil Nadu, India.
The present study is on the growth inhibitory effect of Withania somnifera methanolic leaf extract and its active component, withanolide on HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells. Both the crude leaf extract and the active component activated the apoptotic cascade through the cytochrome c release from mitochondria. The activation of caspase 9, caspase 8 and caspase 3 revealed that caspase was a key mediator in the apoptotic pathway. DNA fragmentation analysis revealed typical ladders as early as 12h indicative of caspase 3 role in the apoptotic pathway. Flow cytometry data demonstrated an increase of sub-G1 peak upon treatment by 51% at 24h, suggesting the induction of apoptotic cell death in HL-60 cells.

Ashwagandha extract availability by herbal ingredient suppliers
Ashwagandha extract is available in a number of concentrations and extract potencies. These include 1 percent alkaloids, 1 percent withanolides, 1.5 percent withanolides, 2.5 percent withanolides, and 5 percent withanolides.

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