Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27209361›Full record

ArticleNeuromolecular medicine2016

Withania somnifera and Its Withanolides Attenuate Oxidative and Inflammatory Responses and Up-Regulate Antioxidant Responses in BV-2 Microglial Cells.

Grace Y Sun, Runting Li, Jiankun Cui, Mark Hannink, Zezong Gu, Kevin L Fritsche, Dennis B Lubahn, Agnes Simonyi

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Neuromolecular medicine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
42citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
11.6field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

42 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 89 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The Green Path to Liver Health: Herbal Solutions for Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis.Cardiovascular & hematological disorders drug targets · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Effects of Ashwagandha (Nutrients · 2020
    Pooled it
  5. Review
  6. Nutraceutical Applications ofFoods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Review
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Ashwagandha (Nutrients · 2025
    Review
  10. Ashwagandha (BMJ open · 2025
    Article
  11. Efficacy of nutraceutical supplements containingFrontiers in veterinary science · 2025
    Article
  12. Validation of HvFrontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2025
    Article
  13. Article
  14. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024
    Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. The benefits of ashwagandha (Frontiers in nutrition · 2024
    Review
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Grace Y SunBiochemistry Department, University of Missouri, 117 Schweitzer Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA. sung@missouri.edu.
Runting LiBiochemistry Department, University of Missouri, 117 Schweitzer Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
Jiankun CuiDepartment of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO, USA.
Mark HanninkBiochemistry Department, University of Missouri, 117 Schweitzer Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
Zezong GuDepartment of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO, USA.
Kevin L FritscheDepartment of Animal Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
Dennis B LubahnBiochemistry Department, University of Missouri, 117 Schweitzer Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
Agnes SimonyiBiochemistry Department, University of Missouri, 117 Schweitzer Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
University of Missouri · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal, commonly known as Ashwagandha, has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for promoting health and quality of life. Recent clinical trials together with experimental studies indicated significant neuroprotective effects of Ashwagandha and its constituents. This study is aimed to investigate anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties of this botanical and its two withanolide constituents, namely, Withaferin A and Withanolide A, using the murine immortalized BV-2 microglial cells. Ashwagandha extracts not only effectively inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in BV-2 cells, but also stimulates the Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) pathway, leading to induction of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), both in the presence and absence of LPS. Although the withanolides were also capable of inhibiting LPS-induced NO production and stimulating Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, Withaferin A was tenfold more effective than Withanolide A. In serum-free culture, LPS can also induce production of long thin processes (filopodia) between 4 and 8 h in BV-2 cells. This morphological change was significantly suppressed by Ashwagandha and both withanolides at concentrations for suppressing LPS-induced NO production. Taken together, these results suggest an immunomodulatory role for Ashwagandha and its withanolides, and their ability to suppress oxidative and inflammatory responses in microglial cells by simultaneously down-regulating the NF-kB and upregulating the Nrf2 pathways.

Indexed as

AnimalsCell LineGene Expression RegulationImmunologic FactorsMiceMicrogliaNeuroprotective AgentsNF-E2-Related Factor 2NF-kappa BOxidative StressPlant ExtractsWithaniaWithanolidesImmunologic FactorsNeuroprotective AgentsNfe2l2 protein, mouseNF-E2-Related Factor 2NF-kappa BPlant ExtractsWithanolidesAshwagandhaHO-1LPSMicrogliaNONrf2Withaferin AWithanolide A

Identifiers

PMID27209361
OpenAlexW2399040283

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.