Background: The production of metabolites via in vitro culture is promoted by the availability of fully defined metabolic pathways. Withanolides, the major bioactive phytochemicals of Withania somnifera, have been well studied for their pharmacological activities. However, only a few attempts have been made to identify key candidate genes involved in withanolide biosynthesis. Understanding the steps involved in withanolide biosynthesis is essential for metabolic engineering of this plant to increase withanolide production.
Results: Transcriptome sequencing was performed on in vitro adventitious root and leaf tissues using the Illumina platform. We obtained a total of 177,156 assembled transcripts with an average unigene length of 1,033 bp. About 13% of the transcripts were unique to in vitro adventitious roots but no unique transcripts were observed in in vitro-grown leaves. A putative withanolide biosynthetic pathway was deduced by mapping the assembled transcripts to the KEGG database, and the expression of candidate withanolide biosynthesis genes -were validated by qRT PCR. The accumulation pattern of withaferin A and withanolide A varied according to the type of tissue and the culture period. Further, we demonstrated that in vitro leaf extracts exhibit anticancer activity against human gastric adenocarcinoma cell lines at sub G1 phase.
Conclusions: We report here a validated large-scale transcriptome data set and the potential biological activity of in vitro cultures of W. somnifera. This study provides important information to enhance tissue-specific expression and accumulation of secondary metabolites, paving the way for industrialization of in vitro cultures of W. somnifera.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12864-015-1214-0 | DOI Listing |
Nutrients
November 2024
Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano, Italy.
: This study investigates the effectiveness of an herbal formulation, STRESSLESS (ST-65), which combines ashwagandha () and bacopa (), on SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells. Given the rising interest in natural compounds for neuroprotection and stress alleviation, we aimed to explore the cellular and molecular effects of this formulation. : Utilizing a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomic approach and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS), we identified key bioactive compounds in ST-65, including withanolides from ashwagandha and bacosides from bacopa.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Mol Sci
November 2024
AIST-INDIA DAILAB, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305-8565, Japan.
We investigated the effect of purified withanolides and extracts derived from Ashwagandha on steatosis, the abnormal accumulation of fat that can lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Collaborator of ARF (CARF, also known as CDKN2AIP, a protein that regulates hepatic lipid metabolism, fat buildup, and liver damage) was used as an indicator. Six withanolides (Withaferin A, Withanone, Withanolide B, Withanoside IV, Withanoside V, and Withanostraminolide-12 deoxy) reversed the decrease in CARF caused by exposure to free fatty acids (FFAs) in liver-derived cells (HepG2 hepatocytes).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
November 2024
Department of Human Anatomy, School of Basic Medicine Sciences, Southern Medical University, 510515, Guangzhou, P. R. China.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder marked by cognitive decline, memory impairment, and behavioral alterations. The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor has emerged as a promising target for AD pharmacotherapy due to its role in the disease's pathogenesis. This study leverages advanced computational methods to screen 80 active constituents of Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha), a traditional herb known for its neuroprotective effects, against the NMDA receptor, using FDA-approved Ifenprodil as a reference.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImmunopharmacol Immunotoxicol
December 2024
Department of Ophthalmology, Severance Hospital, Institute of Vision Research, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Background: Graves' orbitopathy (GO) is an autoimmune condition that causes serious ocular symptoms; its treatment strategies are limited. Physalin A is a phytosterol that has shown various therapeutic properties, including anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects. In this study, we investigated whether physalin A could inhibit inflammation, fibrosis, hyaluronan (hyaluronic acid) production, and adipogenesis, which are crucial to the pathogenesis of GO.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
October 2024
Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, 1# Minde Road, Nanchang, 330006, Jiangxi Privince, People's Republic of China.
With the aging process of the global population and the development of medical technology, the cases of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) are also increasing. Due to the complexity of the pathogenesis, urgent treatment has been sought. Neuroinflammation induced by the accumulation of lipid droplets (LDs) in microglia has been closely watched in recent years and is also considered to be an important cause of nerve damage.
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