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For more than 3,000 years, Withania somnifera, commonly known as Ashwagandha, has been utilised in traditional and Ayurvedic medicine. It belongs to the ginger family. Dry powder, crude extract, and refined metabolites of the plant have all demonstrated potential therapeutic advantages in animal trials because it is a medicinal plant. Withanolides are the primary metabolites of the plant, and they are responsible for the therapeutic effects of the herb. Despite the fact that other review papers on this plant have previously been published, this review article is being provided in order to gather all of based on the most recent data on its pharmacological and phytochemical effects, which have been investigated using a variety of approaches. According to research, Ashwagandha has anti-inflammatory, adaptogen, anti-parkinsonian, anti-oxidant, and memoryboosting properties, and anticancer effects in addition to other benefits. Other effects, such as immunomodulation, hypolipidemia, antimicrobial activity, Investigations have also been done on cardiovascular defence, sexual behaviour, tolerance, and reliance. These outcomes are extremely encouraging, and they recommend more research into this herb to confirm these results and find further potential medicinal characteristics. Clinical studies including the use of ashwagandha for a number of illnesses should be carried out as well. The new evidence on its pharmacological and phytochemical activities is described in the current publication. In order to give thorough information on the ethnobotany, traditional applications, phytochemistry, and pharmacological efficacy of the medicinal plant, W. somnifera, from reliable sources, the present review has primary objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cirsilineol has been reported to exhibit anticancer effects against several human cancer cell lines. The present study was designed to evaluate the anticancer effects of cirsilineol against the human DU-145 prostate cancer cells. The results showed that cirsilineol suppressed the proliferation of DU-145 cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner with minimal cytotoxic effects against the normal cells. The IC50 of cirsilineol was found to be 7 μM and 110 μM against prostate cancer DU-145 and normal HPrEC prostate cells, respectively. Acridine orange and ethidium bromide (AO/EB) staining showed that cirsilineol induced apoptosis in DU-145 prostate cancer cells. The Annexin V/PI staining further confirmed the induction of apoptosis in DU-145 cells. The western blot analysis showed that cirsilineol suppressed the expression of Bax and upregulated the expression of Bcl-2 in prostate cancer DU-145 cells. Moreover, cirsilineol caused a dose-dependent increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in prostate cancer. Wound healing and Transwell assays showed that cirsilineol inhibits migration and invasion of DU-145 prostate cancer cells. Summing up, the results suggest that cirsilineol suppresses the proliferation of prostate cancer cells and may prove to be a beneficial lead molecule for the development of chemotherapy for prostate cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants are the tremendous source for the discovery of new products with medicinal importance in drug development. Today several distinct chemicals derived from plants are important drugs, which are currently used in one or more countries in the world. Secondary metabolites are economically important as drugs, flavor and fragrances, dye and pigments, pesticides, and food additives. Many of the drugs sold today are simple synthetic modifications or copies of the naturally obtained substances. The evolving commercial importance of secondary metabolites has in recent years resulted in a great interest in secondary metabolism, particularly in the possibility of altering the production of bioactive plant metabolites by means of tissue culture technology. Plant cell and tissue culture technologies can be established routinely under sterile conditions from explants, such as plant leaves, stems, roots, and meristems for both the ways for multiplication and extraction of secondary metabolites. In vitro production of secondary metabolite in plant cell suspension cultures has been reported from various medicinal plants, and bioreactors are the key step for their commercial production. Based on this lime light, the present review is aimed to cover phytotherapeutic application and recent advancement for the production of some important plant pharmaceuticals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]