Chemical, microbial and safety profiling of a standardized Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) extract and Withaferin A, a potent novel phytotherapeutic of the millennium | Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007 Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer Open Menu Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007 Home Food Science Publisher Functional Food Center Current Archives About About the Journal Aims and Scope Contact Editing Services Editorial Team Express Peer Review Graphical Abstract Journal Insights Privacy Statement Submissions Announcements Search Search Register Login Home / Archives / Vol. 13 No. 2 (2023): February 2023 / Research Articles Chemical, microbial and safety profiling of a standardized Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) extract and Withaferin A, a potent novel phytotherapeutic of the millennium Authors Pawan Kumar Samudra P. Banik Apurva Goel Sanjoy Chakraborty Manashi Bagchi Debasis Bagchi DOI: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i2.1071 Abstract Background:Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal, popularly known as Ashwagandha, is an ethnomedicinal plant with multiple pharmacotherapeutic applications. The diverse medicinal properties of the plant are largely due to the presence of withanolides, a group of C28 ergostane based steroidal lactones, with several sites of unsaturation and oxygenation. Withaferin A, a major with anolide present in Ashwagandha plant accounts for its emerging new roles to treat cancer, arthritis, inflammatory responses, immunomodulatory properties, and neuronal disorders. The root and leaf extracts are specifically important constituent materials for the development of phytotherapeutics, mostly intended for oral consumption. Several studies have been carried out to delineate the toxic manifestations of the extract for human consumption. Objective:Establish the broad-spectrum safety of W-ferinAmax ashwagandha (WFA). Study: This investigation demonstrated a novel, standardized W-ferinAmax ashwagandha (WFA) extraction technology from the whole herb of Withania sominfera, conducted HPLC analysis to identify the constituents, detected the heavy metals, microbiological contaminants, pesticides contaminants, and safety profile. Results:A novel extraction technology was employed to obtain WFA from the whole plant of Withania sominfera. HPLC analysis revealed that WFA contains a total of 15.4% Withanolides. In particular, Withaferin A, Withanoside IV, and Withanolide A contents were 6.469%, 1.022%, and 0.073%, respectively. The extract contained only 0.403 ppm of heavy metals out of which traces of arsenic, mercury and lead were detected, and cadmium was absent. USP recommended 80 residue basic pesticide screen indicated that the extraction was safe for human consumption. It was also found to be free from pathogenic microbes as assessed by the absence of E. coli and other coliforms, Salmonella and Staphylococcus species. Conclusion: The data generated cumulatively indicated that WFA is safe for further downstream processing to and for human consumption. Keywords: Ashwagandha, Withaferin A, phytotherapeutics, material safety; heavy metals; pesticides Downloads [Abstract] [Full Article] Published 2023-02-23 Issue Vol. 13 No. 2 (2023): February 2023 Section Research Articles License Authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the Functional Food Center (FFC) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. Authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. By submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. The Functional Food Center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. About the Journal      Editing Services      Graphical Abstract      Journal Insights        Submissions        Editorial Team       Privacy Statement        Contact        Current        Archives   Open Journal Systems Hosting and Support by: OpenJournalSystems.com