Withanolides: A Prospective Drug for Infectious and Tropical Diseases

Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) is a shrub plant from the family of Solanaceae and widely used by practitioners in the folk medicines as immune boosting agent. The medicinal properties of plants have been attributed due to the presence of steroidal lactones called as withanolides. Withanolides are a group of highly oxygenated steroids derived from a C28 ergostane skeleton and have attracted significant scientific interest due to their complex structural features and multiple bioactivities. Last one decade’s more than 130 new natural withanolides were isolated from Withania spp., and the scientist from the different field demonstrated that Ashwagandha possesses antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antimicrobial properties. This chapter briefly reviews the drug-likeness activity of withanolides against antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic diseases and more focussed on antileishmanial and immunomodulatory activities of withanolides.