Ashwagandha Standards

Whether for quality control of food & feed or pharmacological research: PhytoLab is offering you an outstanding portfolio of highly purified phyproof® reference standards for quantitative analysis of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera).^[1] 

Commonly known as Sleeping Berry, Indian Ginseng or Winter Cherry, this plant has been used in traditional Indian medicine for centuries.^[2] In recent years, root or leaf powder as well as extracts of Withania somnifera have been increasingly used in herbal medicine and dietary supplements.^[3,4]

The phytochemical composition comprises a group of steroids, the withanolides^[5] with a varying composition depending on the extraction method.^[6] Additionally, several tropane alkaloids, tropine, pseudotropine or isopelletierine as well as pyrrolidine alkaloids, such as nicotine have been reported.^{[7, 8, 9, 10]} The main alkaloids of wild and cultivated plants appear to be similar^[1], however, cultivated plants reportedly have higher concentrations of bioactive compounds than wild plants.^{[11, 12]}

Recently, several food safety authorities have raised concerns about putative adverse effects of certain products containing Ashwagandha^[13]. It is expected that the European Commission may soon issue a mandate for the European Food Safety Authority to assess the safety of Ashwagandha. In this context it will be important to collect more data on the content and biological effects of Ashwagandha constituents, particularly the withanolides and alkaloids.

Find your compound below:

[1] Monograph. Withania somnifera. Altern Med Rev. 2004, 9, 211–214.
[2] S. Paul, S. Chakraborty, U. Anand, S. Dey, S. Nandy, M. Ghorai, S.C. Saha, M.T. Patil, R. Kandimalla, J. Proćków, A. Dey, Biomed. & Pharmacother. 2021, 143, 112175.
[3] M.H. Mirjalili, E. Moyano, M. Bonfill, R.M. Cusido, J. Palazón Molecules 2009, 14 (7), 2373-2393.
[4] P. Mikulska, M. Malinowska, M. Ignacyk, P. Szustowski, J. Nowak, K. Pesta, M. Szeląg, D. Szklanny, E. Judasz, G. Kaczmarek, O.P. Ejiohuo, M. Paczkowska-Walendowska, A. Gościniak, J. Cielecka-Piontek Pharmaceutics. 2023, 15(4), 1057.
[5] L. Misra, P. Mishra, A. Pandey, R.S. Sangwan, N.S. Sangwan, R. Tuli Phytochemistry 2008, 69, 1000–1004.
[6] N.N. Rege, U.M. Thatte, S.A. Dahanukar Phytother. Res. 1999, 13, 275–291.
[7] K.L. Khanna, A.E. Schwarting, A. Rother, J.M. Bobbitt Lloydia 1961, 24, 179–181.
[8] A.P. Gupta, R.K. Verma, H.O. Misra, M.M. Gupta JMAPS 1996, 18, 788–790.
[9] M.H. Mirjalili, E. Moyano, M. Bonfill, R.M. Cusido, J. Palazon Molecules 2009, 14, 2373–2393.
[10] a) World Health Organization (WHO) World health statistics 2009 ISBN: 9789241563819
[11] B. Auddy, J. Hazra, A. Mitra, B. Abedo, S. Ghosal Jana 2008, 11, 50–56.
[12] M.K. Kaul, A. Kumar, A. Ahuja, B.A. Mir, K.A. Suri, G.N. Qazi Nat. Prod. Res. 2009, 23, 1304–1311.
[13] Working Group „Food Supplements“ of the European Heads of Food Safety Agencies (HoA WG FS) (2024), First report of the HoA Working Group “Food Supplements“, Braunschweig, Bundesamt für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit (BVL).
Online available: https://www.bvl.bund.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/01_Lebensmittel/Internationales/report_HoA_WG_FS-en.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=63A32006R192
[14] Pharmacopeial Forum: Volume No. 44(1), USP43-NF38 – 4768, USP42-NF37 – 4724, USP41-NF36 – 4439.