Database Query Results : Ashwagandha(Withaferin A), , hepatoP

Ash, Ashwagandha(Withaferin A): Click to Expand ⟱
Features:

Ashwagandha (Withaferin A) — Withaferin A (WA; WFA) is a bioactive steroidal lactone (a “withanolide”) found in Withania somnifera (ashwagandha/Indian ginseng), with most translational oncology discussion centered on WA as a small-molecule electrophile rather than the whole-herb supplement. It is best classified as a natural-product small molecule (steroidal lactone/withanolide) with pleiotropic proteostasis, cytoskeletal, redox-stress, and inflammatory signaling effects; in supplements, WA exposure depends strongly on extract standardization (root vs leaf, % withanolides) and formulation.

Primary mechanisms (ranked):

  1. Hsp90-axis disruption (incl. client protein destabilization) leading to proteostasis stress and multi-client oncoprotein depletion
  2. Covalent targeting of intermediate filaments (notably vimentin) with downstream effects on adhesion/migration, EMT programs, and angiogenic endothelium
  3. Pro-oxidative stress signaling in cancer cells with mitochondrial dysfunction, ER stress/UPR engagement, and apoptosis execution
  4. Inflammation and survival signaling suppression (notably NF-κB-centric programs; context-dependent immune modulation)
  5. Contextual transcriptional/epigenetic modulation (e.g., HDAC/DNMT-related signals) contributing to anti-proliferative phenotypes
  6. Metabolic stress signaling (glycolysis/HIF-1α/ATP depletion) as a secondary vulnerability in susceptible models

Bioavailability / PK relevance: WA shows measurable systemic exposure in animals (reported oral bioavailability in rats), but PK is variable across species, doses, and extract matrices; human exposure data exist from a phase I osteosarcoma study and from healthy-volunteer PK work on standardized Withania extracts measuring circulating withanolides (including WA). WA is lipophilic and subject to first-pass metabolism; typical pharmacodynamic in-vitro micromolar concentrations may exceed achievable unbound plasma levels depending on formulation and dosing.

In-vitro vs systemic exposure relevance: Many mechanistic cancer studies use ~1–10 µM WA; translation requires caution because free (unbound) systemic concentrations and tumor penetration are not well-constrained in humans, and whole-extract products can have low/variable WA content (model- and formulation-dependent).

Clinical evidence status: Limited human oncology evidence: a phase I study in advanced high-grade osteosarcoma reported feasibility/safety and proposed a daily dose level; an active clinical trial evaluates an ashwagandha/withaferin-A strategy with liposomal doxorubicin in recurrent ovarian cancer. Most anticancer support remains preclinical, while non-oncology human data for ashwagandha primarily address stress/sleep and are not evidence of anticancer efficacy.

The main active constituents of Ashwagandha leaves are alkaloids and steroidal lactones (commonly known as Withanolides).
-The main constituents of ashwagandha are withanolides such as withaferin A, alkaloids, steroidal lactones, tropine, and cuscohygrine.
Ashwagandha is an herb that may reduce stress, anxiety, and insomnia.
*-Ashwagandha is often characterized as an antioxidant.
-Some studies suggest that while ashwagandha may protect normal cells from oxidative damage, it can simultaneously stress cancer cells by tipping their redox balance toward cytotoxicity.
Pathways:
-Induction of Apoptosis and ROS Generation
-Hsp90 Inhibition and Proteasomal Degradation

Cell culture studies vary widely, typically ranging from low micromolar (e.g., 1–10 µM).
In animal models (commonly mice), Withaferin A has been administered in doses ranging from approximately 2 to 10 mg/kg body weight.
- General wellness, Ashwagandha supplements are sometimes taken in doses ranging from 300 mg to 600 mg of an extract (often standardized to contain a certain percentage of withanolides) once or twice daily.
- 400mg of WS extract was given 3X/day to schizophrenia patients. report#2001.
- Ashwagandha Pure 400mg/capsule is available from mcsformulas.com.

-Note half-life 4-6 hrs?.
BioAv
Pathways:
- well-recognized for promoting ROS in cancer cells, while no effect(or reduction) on normal cells.
- ROS↑ related: MMP↓(ΔΨm), ER Stress↑, UPR↑, GRP78↑, Cyt‑c↑, Caspases↑, DNA damage↑, cl-PARP↑, HSP↓, Prx,
- Confusing results about Lowering AntiOxidant defense in Cancer Cells: NRF2↓, TrxR↓**, SOD↓, GSH↓ Catalase↓ HO1↓ GPx↓
- Raises AntiOxidant defense in Normal Cells: ROS↓, NRF2↑, SOD↑, GSH↑, Catalase↑,
- lowers Inflammation : NF-kB↓, COX2↓, p38↓, Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines : NLRP3↓, IL-1β↓, TNF-α↓, IL-6↓, IL-8↓
- inhibit Growth/Metastases : TumMeta↓, TumCG↓, EMT↓, MMPs↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, TIMP2, uPA↓, VEGF↓, ROCK1↓, NF-κB↓, CXCR4↓, SDF1↓, TGF-β↓, α-SMA↓, ERK↓
- reactivate genes thereby inhibiting cancer cell growth : HDAC↓(combined with sulfor), DNMT1↓, DNMT3A↓, P53↑, HSP↓, Sp proteins↓, TET↑
- cause Cell cycle arrest : TumCCA↑, cyclin E↓, CDK2↓, CDK4↓,
- inhibits Migration/Invasion : TumCMig↓, TumCI↓, TNF-α↓, ERK↓, EMT↓, TOP1↓,
- inhibits glycolysis /Warburg Effect and ATP depletion : HIF-1α↓, PKM2↓, cMyc↓, GLUT1↓, LDH↓, LDHA↓, HK2↓, OXPHOS↓, GRP78↑, GlucoseCon↓
- inhibits angiogenesis↓ : VEGF↓, HIF-1α↓, Notch↓, PDGF↓, EGFR↓, Integrins↓,
- inhibits Cancer Stem Cells : CSC↓, β-catenin↓, sox2↓,
- Others: PI3K↓, AKT↓, JAK↓, STAT↓, Wnt↓, β-catenin↓, AMPK, α↓, ERK↓, JNK,
- Synergies: chemo-sensitization, chemoProtective, RadioSensitizer, RadioProtective, Others(review target notes), Neuroprotective, Cognitive, Renoprotection, Hepatoprotective, CardioProtective,

- Selectivity: Cancer Cells vs Normal Cells

Mechanistic pathway map for Ashwagandha (Withaferin A) in cancer biology

Rank Pathway / Axis Cancer Cells Normal Cells TSF Primary Effect Notes / Interpretation
1 Hsp90 proteostasis axis Hsp90 functional inhibition → client proteins ↓ (Akt/EGFR/HER2/Raf/Cdk etc.) → growth/survival signaling ↓ Stress-response engagement possible; tolerability is dose/formulation dependent R Multi-node oncogenic network destabilization Often presented as ATP-independent Hsp90 inhibition with downstream proteasomal degradation of clients; mechanistically central because it collapses multiple driver pathways at once.
2 Vimentin and intermediate filament remodeling Vimentin function/organization ↓ → migration/invasion ↓, EMT programs ↓ (context-dependent) Endothelial and stromal cytoskeleton can be affected; may underlie anti-angiogenic activity P Anti-motility / anti-metastatic leverage WA behaves as a reactive small molecule with reported covalent interaction with vimentin; cytoskeletal perturbation can be rapid and not strictly transcription-driven.
3 Mitochondrial ROS increase ROS ↑ → ΔΨm ↓, cyt-c ↑, caspase cascade ↑ → apoptosis ↑ Often ROS ↔ or ↓ with antioxidant response ↑ (model-dependent) P/R Selective redox toxicity in susceptible tumors Frequently paired with ER stress/UPR activation; selectivity is commonly framed as “push cancer over its redox limit,” but this is highly dose- and context-dependent.
4 ER stress and UPR axis ER stress ↑, UPR ↑ → proteotoxic stress → apoptosis/autophagy shifts (model-dependent) Adaptive UPR may occur; excessive dosing can stress normal tissues R Proteotoxic stress amplification Mechanistically synergistic with Hsp90 disruption and ROS signaling; can manifest as GRP78/BiP and related markers ↑ in some systems.
5 NF-κB inflammatory survival signaling NF-κB ↓ → cytokine/pro-survival programs ↓, invasion-associated signaling ↓ Anti-inflammatory signaling ↓ may be beneficial in some contexts; immune effects can be mixed G Survival/inflammation program suppression Often aligned with COX-2 and inflammasome-related readouts in inflammatory models; oncology relevance is strongest where NF-κB is a core survival node.
6 EMT and metastasis signaling EMT ↓, MMPs ↓, uPA ↓, CXCR4/SDF1 axis ↓ (model-dependent) Wound-healing programs can be affected (context-dependent) G Anti-invasive phenotype Partly downstream of cytoskeletal (vimentin) effects and NF-κB/TGF-β-linked programs; directionality can vary by tumor lineage and assay.
7 Glycolysis and HIF-1α HIF-1α ↓, glycolysis flux ↓, ATP ↓ (susceptible models) Usually ↔ at low exposure; metabolic stress possible at higher exposure G Metabolic vulnerability unmasking Often secondary to upstream stress (ROS/proteostasis) rather than a primary enzymatic inhibitor; interpret as (context-dependent).
8 Cell cycle checkpoint control Cell-cycle arrest ↑ (often G2/M reported), CDK/cyclin signaling ↓ Proliferating normal cells may also be sensitive at higher exposure G Anti-proliferative enforcement Common phenotype readout across WA studies; mechanistic “why” may differ by model (proteostasis vs ROS vs mitotic machinery/cytoskeleton).
9 NRF2 and antioxidant defense NRF2 ↓ and antioxidant enzymes ↓ reported in some cancer models; sometimes mixed ↔ NRF2 ↑ and antioxidant enzymes ↑ reported in some normal-tissue protection contexts G Redox buffering divergence Highly model-dependent; WA can behave as a stressor that either suppresses or activates NRF2-linked programs depending on timing, dose, and baseline redox state.
10 Clinical Translation Constraint Micromolar in-vitro dosing common; human oncology exposure/target engagement remains sparsely defined Supplement heterogeneity (WA content), drug-interaction risk, and organ-specific toxicity signals (notably liver; thyroid) constrain use — Formulation + PK + safety gating Human data exist (phase I osteosarcoma; ongoing ovarian combo), but WA is not an approved anticancer drug and standardized products/target engagement biomarkers are not yet mature.

TSF legend: P: 0–30 min    R: 30 min–3 hr    G: >3 hr
hepatoP, L,hepatoprotective: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type:
Hepatoprotective is the ability of a chemical substance to prevent damage to the liver.

Grapefruit:
-hepatoprotective potential has emerged from the study of naringenin and naringin.
Blueberries/cranberries:
-proanthocyanidins
Grape:
Nopal (Cactus pear) and tuna (Cactus pear fruit) “Opuntia ficus-indica”:
Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla or Chamomilla recutita):
Silymarin (Silybum marianum):
Blue green algae spirulina :
Propolis (bee glue):

POLYSACCHARIDES
β-glucans
Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
3174- Ash,    Withaferin A Acts as a Novel Regulator of Liver X Receptor-α in HCC
- in-vitro, HCC, HepG2 - in-vitro, HCC, Hep3B - in-vitro, HCC, HUH7
NF-kB↓, We found that many of Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), angiogenesis and inflammation associated proteins secretion is downregulated upon Withaferin A treatment.
angioG↓,
Inflam↓,
TumCP↓, uppressed the proliferation, migration, invasion, and anchorage-independent growth of these HCC cells.
TumCMig↓,
TumCI↓,
Sp1/3/4↓, Withaferin A inhibits NF-κB, Specificity protein 1 (Sp1) transcription factors, and downregulates Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) gene expression
VEGF↓,
angioG↓, Withaferin A (2.5 µM) treatment decreased the secretion of various angiogenesis-related markers, growth factors, and cytokines (Serpin F1(PEDF), uPA, PDGF-AA, Angiogenin, Endothelin-1, Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), PAI-1, MCP1, ICAM-1
uPA↓,
PDGF↓,
MCP1↓,
ICAM-1↓,
*NRF2↑, It also upregulates the Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) transcription factor and protects from Acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity and liver injury
*hepatoP↑,

3170- Ash,    Withaferin A protects against hyperuricemia induced kidney injury and its possible mechanisms
- in-vitro, Nor, NRK52E - in-vivo, NA, NA
*RenoP↑, WFA ameliorated renal damage, improved kidney function, and decreased levels of creatinine, BUN, UA, and XOD in PO-induced hyperuricemic mice.
*hepatoP↑,
*creat↓,
*BUN↓,
*uricA↓,
*Apoptosis↓, WFA markedly inhibited renal apoptosis, accompanied by changes of apoptosis-related proteins.
*α-SMA↓, Notably reduced α-SMA expression was observed after WFA administration, with WFA 10 mg/kg group presenting the most significant inhibitory effect.

5394- Ash,    Safety and pharmacokinetics of Withaferin-A in advanced stage high grade osteosarcoma: A phase I trial
- Trial, OS, NA
toxicity↝, generally well tolerated. Eleven adverse events of grade 1 or grade 2 severity were observed. No grade 3 or grade 4 adverse events were observed.
hepatoP↓, Elevation of liver enzymes (5/11) and skin rash (2/11) was the most common adverse events.
BioAv↓, However, WA appears to have low oral bioavailability.
Apoptosis↑, WA has been reported to induce apoptosis via intrinsic and extrinsic pathways in human prostate, breast and leukemic cancer cells among others
ROS↑, It has also shown the ability to induce apoptosis in osteosarcoma U2OS cell lines by generating ROS, also causing cell cycle arrest in osteosarcoma cell lines by inhibition of G2/M checkpoint proteins
TumCCA↑,

3164- Ash,    Withaferin A alleviates fulminant hepatitis by targeting macrophage and NLRP3
*hepatoP↑, Withania Somnifera, is a hepatoprotective agent
*IKKα↓, WA also inhibits inflammation by directly inhibiting IκκB activity46,47 or NLRP3 inflammasome activation in vitro in immune cells
*NLRP3↓,
*NRF2↑, WA probably protects against FH by targeting the macrophage and/or hepatocyte stress via activating NRF2, AMPKα
*AMPK↑,
*Inflam↓, Thus, WA potently protects against GalN/LPS-induced hepatotoxicity and inflammation
*Apoptosis↓, WA suppressed hepatic apoptosis in vivo
*cl‑Casp3↓, attenuate the increase of cleaved CASP3 and cleaved PARP1
*cl‑PARP1↓,
*NLRP3↓, WA prevented GalN/LPS-induced FH partially by inhibiting activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome
*ROS↓, fig 7
*ALAT↓,
*AST↓,
*GSH↑, (GSH) levels were significantly depleted by ~50% 6 h after GalN/LPS administration and were recovered to levels comparable with that of control mice by WA treatment

3156- Ash,    Withaferin A: From ayurvedic folk medicine to preclinical anti-cancer drug
- Review, Var, NA
MAPK↑, Figure 3
p38↑,
BAX↑,
BIM↑,
CHOP↑,
ROS↑,
DR5↑,
Apoptosis↑,
Ferroptosis↑,
GPx4↓,
BioAv↝, WA has a rapid oral absorption and reaches to peak plasma concentration of around 16.69 ± 4.02 ng/ml within 10 min after oral administration of Withania somnifera aqueous extract at dose of 1000 mg/kg, which is equivalent to 0.458 mg/kg of WA
HSP90↓, table 1 10uM) were found to inhibit the chaperone activity of HSP90
RET↓,
E6↓,
E7↓,
Akt↓,
cMET↓,
Glycolysis↓, by suppressing the glycolysis and tricarboxylic (TCA) cycle
TCA↓,
NOTCH1↓,
STAT3↓,
AP-1↓,
PI3K↓,
eIF2α↓,
HO-1↑,
TumCCA↑, WA (1--3 uM) have been reported to inhibit cell proliferation by inducing G2 and M phase cycle arrest inovarian, breast, prostate, gastric and myelodysplastic/leukemic cancer cells and osteosarcoma
CDK1↓, WA is able to decrease the cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (Cdk1) activity and prevent Cdk1/cyclin B1 complex formation, which are key steps in cell cycle progression
*hepatoP↑, A treatment (40 mg/kg) reduces acetaminophen-induced liver injury (AILI) in mouse models and decreases H 2O 2-induced glutathione (GSH) depletion and necrosis in hepatocyte
*GSH↑,
*NRF2↑, WA triggers an anti-oxidant response after acetaminophen overdose by enhancing hepatic transcription of the nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 (NRF2)-responsive gene
Wnt↓, indirectly inhibit Wnt
EMT↓, WA can also block tumor metastasis through reduced expression of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers.
uPA↓, WA (700 nM) exert anti-meta-static activities in breast cancer cells through inhibition of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) protease
CSCs↓, s WA (125-500 nM) suppress tumor sphere formation indicating that the self-renewal of CSC is abolished
Nanog↓, loss of these CSC-specific characteristics is reflected in the loss of typical stem cell markers such as ALDH1A, Nanog, Sox2, CD44 and CD24
SOX2↓,
CD44↓,
lactateProd↓, drop in lactate levels compared to control mice.
Iron↑, Furthermore, we found that WA elevates the levels of intracellular labile ferrous iron (Fe +2 ) through excessive activation of heme oxygenase-1 (HMOX1), which independently causes accumulation of toxic lipid radicals and ensuing ferroptosis
NF-kB↓, nhibition of NF-kB kinase signaling pathway


* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 5

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

Ferroptosis↑, 1,   GPx4↓, 1,   HO-1↑, 1,   Iron↑, 1,   ROS↑, 2,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

Glycolysis↓, 1,   lactateProd↓, 1,   TCA↓, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Akt↓, 1,   Apoptosis↑, 2,   BAX↑, 1,   BIM↑, 1,   DR5↑, 1,   Ferroptosis↑, 1,   MAPK↑, 1,   p38↑, 1,  

Kinase & Signal Transduction ⓘ

RET↓, 1,   Sp1/3/4↓, 1,  

Protein Folding & ER Stress ⓘ

CHOP↑, 1,   eIF2α↓, 1,   HSP90↓, 1,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence ⓘ

CDK1↓, 1,   TumCCA↑, 2,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

CD44↓, 1,   cMET↓, 1,   CSCs↓, 1,   EMT↓, 1,   Nanog↓, 1,   NOTCH1↓, 1,   PI3K↓, 1,   SOX2↓, 1,   STAT3↓, 1,   Wnt↓, 1,  

Migration ⓘ

AP-1↓, 1,   PDGF↓, 1,   TumCI↓, 1,   TumCMig↓, 1,   TumCP↓, 1,   uPA↓, 2,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature ⓘ

angioG↓, 2,   VEGF↓, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

ICAM-1↓, 1,   Inflam↓, 1,   MCP1↓, 1,   NF-kB↓, 2,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

BioAv↓, 1,   BioAv↝, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers ⓘ

E6↓, 1,   E7↓, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

hepatoP↓, 1,   toxicity↝, 1,  
Total Targets: 51

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

GSH↑, 2,   NRF2↑, 3,   ROS↓, 1,   uricA↓, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

ALAT↓, 1,   AMPK↑, 1,   BUN↓, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Apoptosis↓, 2,   cl‑Casp3↓, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair ⓘ

cl‑PARP1↓, 1,  

Migration ⓘ

α-SMA↓, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

IKKα↓, 1,   Inflam↓, 1,  

Protein Aggregation ⓘ

NLRP3↓, 2,  

Clinical Biomarkers ⓘ

ALAT↓, 1,   AST↓, 1,   creat↓, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

hepatoP↑, 4,   RenoP↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 19

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: hepatoP, L,hepatoprotective
5 Ashwagandha(Withaferin A)
Query results interpretion may depend on "conditions" listed in the research papers.
Such Conditions may include : 
  -low or high Dose
  -format for product, such as nano of lipid formations
  -different cell line effects
  -synergies with other products 
  -if effect was for normal or cancerous cells

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