• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• 제60권1호
• /
• pp.2.1-2.5
• /
• 2018

Infectious Bursal Disease is a severe viral disease of chicken responsible for serious economic losses to poultry farmers. The causative agent, Infectious Bursal Disease virus, is inhibited by nitric oxide. Root extract of the Indian ginseng, Withania somnifera, inhibits Infectious Bursal Disease virus in vitro. Also, Withania somnifera root extract is known to induce nitric oxide production in vitro. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to determine if the inhibitory activity of Withania somnifera against Infectious Bursal Disease virus was based on the production of nitric oxide. We show that besides other mechanisms, the inhibition of Infectious Bursal Disease virus by Withania somnifera involves the production of nitric oxide. Our results also highlight the paradoxical role of nitric oxide in the pathogenesis of Infectious Bursal Disease.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제17권5호
• /
• pp.2723-2726
• /
• 2016

Cancer represent one of the most serious health problems and major causes of death around the world. Many anticancer drugs in clinical use today are natural products or derived from natural sources. Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal is a small shrub widely distributed in many parts of the world including Saudi Arabia. The antiproliferative activities of the methanolic extract of W. somnifera leaves collected from Faifa mountains, southwest Saudi Arabia against MCF-7, HCT116 and HepH2 cell lines were investigated. The extract showed a strong antiproliferative activity against all cell lines with $IC_{50}$ values of 3.35, 2.19 and $1.89{\mu}g/ml$, respectively. Flow cytometry results showed that the extract arrested the cell cycle at S phase, and the increase in the caspase 3 activity suggested that the extract could induce cell apoptosis by a caspase mediated pathway. These results demonstrated that the methanolic extract of W. somnifera leaves collected from Faifa mountains has comparable strong antiproliferative activities to samples collected from different locations.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• 제32권4호
• /
• pp.473-483
• /
• 2022

In this study we investigated the effect of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) fermentation on the ingredients and anti-oxidant activity of Withania somnifera extract. Four strains of LAB could proliferate normally in medium containing W. somnifera extract after the pH reached 3.1~3.5. LAB fermentation increased the content of alcohols and ketones, endowing the extract with the characteristic aroma of fermentation. Compared to the control, the DPPH and ABTS free radical scavenging rates in the fermented samples were significantly improved, ranging from 48.5% to 59.6% and 1.2% to 6.4%. The content of total phenols was significantly increased by 36.1% during the fermentation of mixed bacteria. Moreover, the original composition spectrum of the extract was significantly changed while the differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) were closely related to bile secretion, tryptophan metabolism and purine metabolism. Therefore, LAB fermentation can be used as a promising way to improve the flavor and bioactivity of the extracts of W. somnifera, making the ferments more attractive for use as functional food.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• 제42권4호
• /
• pp.463-469
• /
• 2018

Background: Roots of Withania somnifera (WS) are a celebrated medicinal ingredient in Ayurvedic and many other indigenous systems of medicine. The present study investigates the effect of the phytochemical composition of the extracts on their antioxidant and reducing activities. Methods: WS roots were extracted with water, acetone, aqueous methanol (1:1), and methanol:-chloroform:water (1:1:1) to obtain aqueous, acetone, hydro-methanolic, and methanol-chloroform-water extracts. Thereafter, phytochemical constitution and antioxidant and reducing activities of the extracts were compared using different qualitative and quantitative tests. Results: Maximum extraction recovery was obtained with 50% aqueous methanol whereas extraction with acetone yielded the poorest recovery. Methanol-chloroform-water extract had the highest content of phytochemical constituents, except tannins, and also exhibited the highest antioxidant and reducing activities. Conclusion: Phytochemical composition and antioxidant and reducing activities of the extracts were positively associated with the use of organic solvents during the extraction process. Alkaloids and flavonoids were the most important contributors in the antioxidant and reducing activities of the extracts.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제17권9호
• /
• pp.4367-4375
• /
• 2016

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the anticancer and radio-sensitizing efficacy of a Withania somnifera extract/Gadolinium III oxide nanocomposite (WSGNC) in mice. WSGNC was injected to solid Ehrlich carcinoma-bearing mice via i.p. (227 mg/kg body weight) 3 times/week during 3 weeks. Irradiation was performed by whole body fractionated exposure to 6Gy, applied in 3 doses of 2 Gy/week over 3 weeks. Biochemical analyses as well as DNA fragmentation were performed. Treatment of solid Ehrlich carcinoma bearing mice with WSGNC combined with ${\gamma}$-radiation led to a significant decrease in the tumor size and weight associated with a significant decrease in mitochondrial enzyme activities, GSH content and SOD activity as well as a significant increase in caspase-3 activity, MDA concentration and DNA fragmentation in cancer tissues. Combined treatment of WSGNC and low dose of ${\gamma}$-radiation showed great amelioration in lipid peroxidation and antioxidant status (GSH content and SOD activity) in liver tissues in animals bearing tumors. It is concluded that WSGNC can be considered as a radio-sensitizer and anticancer modulator, suggesting a possible role in reducing the radiation exposure dose during radiotherapy.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
• /
• 제14권1호
• /
• pp.45-50
• /
• 2007

Ethanol extract of 20 botanicals in 3 concentrations i.e., 2.5%, 5% and 10% were evaluated for their efficacy to improve reproductive performance of mulberry silkworm (Bombyx mod L.) through feeding botanical enriched mulberry leaves during $2^{nd}$ day of $4^{th}$ age as well as $1^{st}$ and $3^{rd}$ day of $5^{th}$ age larvae. The preliminary screening was done by ranking the botanicals based on influence in most important reproductive contributing parameters such as single cocoon weight, effective rate of rearing, pupation rate, fecundity and recovery of eggs/kg cocoon. Five botanicals viz., Asparagus recemosus, Achyranthes aspera, Tribulus terrestris, Withania somnifera, Parthenium histerophorus ranked first were further evaluated at 8% 5% and 3% concentrations to confirm their effectiveness and standardize effective concentration. Among the rearing parameters, mature larval weight, shell ratio and number of cocoons/kg were not significantly influenced by the treatments. However, reproductive parameters such as effective rate of rearing (wt), pupation rate (%), fecundity (No.) and egg recovery (g)/kg cocoon were significantly (P<0.05) influenced by the botanicals. Higher fecundity and egg recovery were obtained on treatment with Withania somnifera irrespective of concentrations. However at 5% concentration, pupation rate, fecundity as well as egg recovery were found significantly higher than that of other concentrations, confirming its effectiveness for improving reproductive efficiency.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
• /
• 제9권3호
• /
• pp.217-224
• /
• 2009

In this study, four plants grown naturally in Egypt that are usually consumed by pastoral nomads were screened for their total phenolic contents, antioxidative, and anti-$\alpha$-amylase activities. Dried powder of plant's part was extracted in absolute or 70% ethanol. A polar extract of Panicum turgidum (PTPE) had the highest total polyphenol content {92.5 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g}, followed by an alkaloid extract of Withania somnifera (WSAlk; 77.5 mg GAE/g), and an ethanol extract of Leptadenia pyrotechnica (LPEE; 59.1 mg GAE/g). By employing different assays such as DPPH radical scavenging, reducing power, $Fe^+$ chelating, $H_2O_2$ scavenging and total antioxidant capacity, it was shown that PTPE, WSEE (ethanol extract of W. somnifera), WSAlk and LPEE had promising antioxidant activity, though, their potency varied according to the different tests. WSAlk had the highest level of $\alpha$-amylase inhibition (40.2%) in vitro, followed by WSEE (30.5%). Therefore, it can be concluded that these plants, especially extracts of PTPE, and WSAlk are beneficial to physiological health, and could be used in food and pharmaceutical industries to prepare dietary supplements, functional foods or food preservatives.