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Lerose V, Ponticelli M, Benedetto N, Carlucci V, Lela L, Tzvetkov NT, Milella L. Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal, a Potential Source of Phytochemicals for Treating Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Systematic Review. Plants (Basel) 2024; 13:771. [PMID: 38592845 PMCID: PMC10976061 DOI: 10.3390/plants13060771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2024] [Revised: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal is a medicinal plant belonging to the traditional Indian medical system, showing various therapeutic effects such as anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-diabetic, and hepatoprotective activity. Of great interest is W. somnifera's potential beneficial effect against neurodegenerative diseases, since the authorized medicinal treatments can only delay disease progression and provide symptomatic relief and are not without side effects. A systematic search of PubMed and Scopus databases was performed to identify preclinical and clinical studies focusing on the applications of W. somnifera in preventing neurodegenerative diseases. Only English articles and those containing the keywords (Withania somnifera AND "neurodegenerative diseases", "neuroprotective effects", "Huntington", "Parkinson", "Alzheimer", "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis", "neurological disorders") in the title or abstract were considered. Reviews, editorials, letters, meta-analyses, conference papers, short surveys, and book chapters were not considered. Selected articles were grouped by pathologies and summarized, considering the mechanism of action. The quality assessment and the risk of bias were performed using the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions checklist. This review uses a systematic approach to summarize the results from 60 investigations to highlight the potential role of W. somnifera and its specialized metabolites in treating or preventing neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Lerose
- Department of Science, University of Basilicata, V.le Ateneo Lucano 10, 85100 Potenza, Italy; (V.L.); (N.B.); (V.C.); (L.L.)
| | - Maria Ponticelli
- Department of Science, University of Basilicata, V.le Ateneo Lucano 10, 85100 Potenza, Italy; (V.L.); (N.B.); (V.C.); (L.L.)
| | - Nadia Benedetto
- Department of Science, University of Basilicata, V.le Ateneo Lucano 10, 85100 Potenza, Italy; (V.L.); (N.B.); (V.C.); (L.L.)
| | - Vittorio Carlucci
- Department of Science, University of Basilicata, V.le Ateneo Lucano 10, 85100 Potenza, Italy; (V.L.); (N.B.); (V.C.); (L.L.)
| | - Ludovica Lela
- Department of Science, University of Basilicata, V.le Ateneo Lucano 10, 85100 Potenza, Italy; (V.L.); (N.B.); (V.C.); (L.L.)
| | - Nikolay T. Tzvetkov
- Institute of Molecular Biology “Roumen Tsanev”, Department of Biochemical Pharmacology & Drug Design, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Str., Bl. 21, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria;
| | - Luigi Milella
- Department of Science, University of Basilicata, V.le Ateneo Lucano 10, 85100 Potenza, Italy; (V.L.); (N.B.); (V.C.); (L.L.)
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Vaidya VG, Gothwad A, Ganu G, Girme A, Modi SJ, Hingorani L. Clinical safety and tolerability evaluation of Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal (Ashwagandha) root extract in healthy human volunteers. J Ayurveda Integr Med 2024; 15:100859. [PMID: 38154316 PMCID: PMC10784694 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaim.2023.100859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Revised: 10/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal, known as Ashwagandha, is an adaptogen with significant importance in Ayurveda for its potential health benefits in strength ('balavardhan') and muscle growth ('mamsavardhan'). Despite numerous studies on its efficacy, limited research is reported on its clinical safety and tolerability in healthy individuals. OBJECTIVE This research evaluated the tolerability and safety of standardized Withania somnifera root extract (WSE) capsules (AgeVel®/Witholytin®) at 1000 mg/day dose upon oral administration in healthy male participants. METHOD A non-randomized, open-label, single-treatment clinical study included eighteen healthy male participants aged 18 to 60. The participants were administered a dose of 500 mg of the WSE capsules twice daily for four weeks. Each capsule contained not less than 7.50 mg of total withanolides. The study evaluated various indicators in a cohort of healthy participants throughout the trial, including vital signs, organ function tests, urine analysis, X-ray and ECG, cardiorespiratory endurance, body fat percentage, lean body weight, adverse events profile, and tolerability of the WSE capsules. RESULTS The participant's physical, hematological, and biochemical characteristics were normal, and no significant alterations or irregularities were observed in safety metrics like liver, kidney, and thyroid functions after administering AgeVel®/Witholytin®. CONCLUSION This study found that healthy male participants could consume a standardized WSE at a daily dosage of 1000 mg for four weeks without any adverse effects. Future research should focus on long-term safety assessments in male and female participants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vidyadhar G Vaidya
- Lokmanya Medical Research Centre and Hospital, Pune, 411033, Maharashtra, India
| | - Amol Gothwad
- Lokmanya Medical Research Centre and Hospital, Pune, 411033, Maharashtra, India
| | - Gayatri Ganu
- Mprex Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., Pune, 411057, Maharashtra, India
| | - Aboli Girme
- Pharmanza Herbal Pvt. Ltd., Anand, 388430, Gujarat, India
| | | | - Lal Hingorani
- Pharmanza Herbal Pvt. Ltd., Anand, 388430, Gujarat, India.
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Pathak P, Shukla P, Kanshana JS, Jagavelu K, Sangwan NS, Dwivedi AK, Dikshit M. Standardized root extract of Withania somnifera and Withanolide A exert moderate vasorelaxant effect in the rat aortic rings by enhancing nitric oxide generation. J Ethnopharmacol 2021; 278:114296. [PMID: 34090907 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2021.114296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2019] [Revised: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
ETHNO-PHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal, commonly known as Ashwagandha, belongs to the family Solanaceae. In Ayurveda, Ashwagandha has been defined as one of the most important herb and is considered to be the best adaptogen. It is also an excellent rejuvenator, a general health tonic and cure for various disorders such as cerebrovascular, insomnia, asthma, ulcers, etc. Steroidal lactones (Withanolides: Withanolide A, Withaferin A, Withanolide D, Withanone, etc) isolated from this plant, possess promising medicinal properties such as anti-inflammatory, immune-stimulatory etc. Standardized root extract of the plant NMITLI-118R (NM) was prepared at CSIR-CIMAP, and was investigated for various biological activities at CSIR-CDRI. Among the notable medicinal properties, NM exhibited excellent neuroprotective activity in the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rat model. AIM OF THE STUDY Endothelial dysfunction is the primary event in the cerebrovascular or cardiovascular disorders, present study was thus undertaken to evaluate vasoprotective potential of NM and its biomarker compound Withanolide A (WA) using rat aortic rings and EA.hy926 endothelial cells. MATERIAL AND METHODS Transverse aortic rings of 10 weeks old Wistar rats were used to evaluate effect of NM and WA on the vasoreactivity. While, mechanism of NM and WA mediated vasorelaxant was investigated in Ea.hy926 cell line by measuring NO generation, nitrite content, Serine 1177 phosphorylation of eNOS, reduced/oxidized biopterin levels and expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) mRNA and protein. RESULTS Fingerprinting of NM using HPLC identified presence of WA in the extract. NM as well as WA exerted moderate vasorelaxant effect in the endothelium intact rat aortic rings which was lesser than acetylcholine (ACh). NM and WA augmented ACh induced relaxation in the rat aortic rings. NM and WA dependent vasorelaxation was blocked by N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) or 1H-[1,2,4] oxadiazolo [4,3,-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ), indicating role of NO/cGMP. Further Ea.hy926 cells treated with NM and WA showed accumulation of nitrite content, enhanced NO levels, eNOS expression and eNOS phosphorylation (Serine 1177). CONCLUSION Altogether NM and WA dependent improvement in the NO availability seems to be mediated by the enhanced eNOS phosphorylation. WA, seems to be one of the active constituent of NM, and presence of other vasoactive substances cannot be ruled out. The data obtained imply that the vasorelaxant property of NM is beneficial for its neuroprotective potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priya Pathak
- Pharmacology Division, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, 226031, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, New Delhi, 110001, India.
| | - Prachi Shukla
- Pharmacology Division, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, 226031, India.
| | - Jitendra S Kanshana
- Pharmacology Division, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, 226031, India.
| | - Kumaravelu Jagavelu
- Pharmacology Division, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, 226031, India.
| | - Neelam S Sangwan
- CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow, 226015, India.
| | - Anil K Dwivedi
- Pharmaceutics Division, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, 226031, India.
| | - Madhu Dikshit
- Pharmacology Division, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, 226031, India; Tanslational Health Science and Technology, Faridabad, 121001, India.
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Marathe PA, Satam SD, Raut SB, Shetty YC, Pooja SG, Raut AA, Kale PP, Rege NN. Effect of Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal aqueous root extract on reinstatement using conditioned place preference and brain GABA and dopamine levels in alcohol dependent animals. J Ethnopharmacol 2021; 274:113304. [PMID: 32920131 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2020.113304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2019] [Revised: 05/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal (WS), a known'Rasayana' (rejuvenating agent) as per Ayurveda is prescribed to promote health, to increase longevity and to hasten recovery in disease convalescent stages. WS has demonstrated protective effect on alcohol dependence and withdrawal anxiety in previous experimental studies. AIM OF THE STUDY To evaluate effect of WS on conditioned place behavioral paradigm (model of relapse) and on GABA and dopamine levels in critical brain areas in alcohol dependent animals. METHODOLOGY Following Animal Ethics Committee permission, the mice (n = 24) were divided into the following study groups for experiment 1: 1 -distilled water (vehicle control), 2 -WS and 3 -Naltrexone. They were conditioned on conditioned place preference (CPP) using alcohol (2 gm/kg)/saline (1 ml) administered intraperitoneally for 8 days. WS and Naltrexone were administered during the period of extinction (6-8 days). Effect of WS (650 mg/kg) on reinstating behaviour of mice (time spent in alcohol paired compartment) primed with alcohol injection was noted. In experiment 2, effect of WS (450 mg/kg/) on GABA and dopamine levels in the midbrain, striatum and cortex (ng/gm) were measured in alcohol dependent rats (n = 24) following the first phase of standardisation assay (n = 36). The rats were made alcohol dependent for 15 days (intermittent access model) and WS was administered concurrently. GABA and dopamine levels were measured on Day 16. RESULTS WS group showed decrease in time spent in alcohol paired compartment alike Naltrexone and it differed significantly compared to the distilled water control group (p < 0.05) Alcohol-dependent rats showed significant decrease in GABA and increase in dopamine levels vs distilled water in the midbrain, striatum and cortex. WS and Naltrexone administration showed rise in GABA and fall in dopamine in all the isolated brain parts in the respective groups (p < 0.05 vs alcohol treated group). CONCLUSION Withania somnifera protected animals from relapse and showed beneficial effects on the brain neurotransmitters involved in alcohol dependence. The study provides substantial evidence for its potential application in alcohol use disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- P A Marathe
- Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Seth Gordhandas Sundardas Medical College & King Edward Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, 400 012, India
| | - S D Satam
- Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Seth Gordhandas Sundardas Medical College & King Edward Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, 400 012, India
| | - S B Raut
- School of Psychological Sciences, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Launceston, 7250, Australia
| | - Y C Shetty
- Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Seth Gordhandas Sundardas Medical College & King Edward Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, 400 012, India.
| | - S G Pooja
- Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Seth Gordhandas Sundardas Medical College & King Edward Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, 400 012, India
| | - A A Raut
- Medical Research Centre of Kasturba Health Society, Vile Parle (west), Mumbai, India
| | - P P Kale
- SVKMs Dr Bhanuben Nanavati College of Pharmacy, Vile Parle, Mumbai, India
| | - N N Rege
- Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Seth Gordhandas Sundardas Medical College & King Edward Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, 400 012, India
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Choudhary D, Bhattacharyya S, Bose S. Efficacy and Safety of Ashwagandha ( Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal) Root Extract in Improving Memory and Cognitive Functions. J Diet Suppl 2017; 14:599-612. [PMID: 28471731 DOI: 10.1080/19390211.2017.1284970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Cognitive decline is often associated with the aging process. Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal) has long been used in the traditional Ayurvedic system of medicine to enhance memory and improve cognition. AIM This pilot study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ashwagandha (Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal) in improving memory and cognitive functioning in adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). METHODS A prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted in 50 adults. Subjects were treated with either ashwagandha-root extract (300 mg twice daily) or placebo for eight weeks. RESULTS After eight weeks of study, the ashwagandha treatment group demonstrated significant improvements compared with the placebo group in both immediate and general memory, as evidenced by Wechsler Memory Scale III subtest scores for logical memory I (p = 0.007), verbal paired associates I (p = 0.042), faces I (p = 0.020), family pictures I (p = 0.006), logical memory II (p = 0.006), verbal paired associates II (p = 0.031), faces II (p = 0.014), and family pictures II (p = 0.006). The treatment group also demonstrated significantly greater improvement in executive function, sustained attention, and information-processing speed as indicated by scores on the Eriksen Flanker task (p = 0.002), Wisconsin Card Sort test (p = 0.014), Trail-Making test part A (p = 0.006), and the Mackworth Clock test (p = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS Ashwagandha may be effective in enhancing both immediate and general memory in people with MCI as well as improving executive function, attention, and information processing speed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sauvik Bhattacharyya
- b Department of Pharmaceutical Technology , NSHM Knowledge Campus , Kolkata , India
| | - Sekhar Bose
- b Department of Pharmaceutical Technology , NSHM Knowledge Campus , Kolkata , India
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