steroidal lactones from withania somnifera, an ancient plant for novel medicine从withania somnifera甾族的内酯,一种古老的植物新医学.pdfVIP

Molecules 2009, 14, 2373-2393; doi:10.3390/molecule OPEN ACCESS molecules ISSN 1420-3049 /journal/molecules Review Steroidal Lactones from Withania somnifera, an Ancient Plant for Novel Medicine 1 2 3 3 Mohammad Hossein Mirjalili , Elisabeth Moyano , Mercedes Bonfill , Rosa M. Cusido and Javier Palazón 3,* 1 Medicinal Plants and Drugs Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C., Evin, Tehran, Iran; E-mail: m-mirjalili@sbu.ac.ir (M.H.M.) 2 Departament de Ciencies Experimentals i de la Salut, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Av. Doctor Aiguader 80, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; E-mail: elisabeth.moyano@ (E.M.) 3 Laboratori de Fisiologia Vegetal, Facultat de Farmacia, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Joan XXIII s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; E-mails: mbonfill@ (M.B.), rcusido@ (R.M.C.) * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-mail: javierpalazon@ Received: 27 May 2009; in revised form: 23 June 2009 / Accepted: 2 July 2009 / Published: 3 July 2009 Abstract: Withania somnifera, commonly known as Ashwagandha, is an important medicinal plant that has been used in Ayurvedic and indigenous medicine for over 3,000 years. In view of its varied therapeutic potential, it has also been the subject of considerable modern scientific attention. The major chemical constituents of the Withania genus, the withanolides, are a group of naturally occurring C2