Effect of macronutrient deficiency on withanolides content in the roots of Withania somnifera and its correlationship with molybdenum content

Figures & data

Figure 1. HPTLC chromatogram at 235 nm of withanolides, namely withanoside V (WE V), withaferine A (WF A), 1,2-deoxy-withastramonolide (1,2-DWM), withanolide A (WN A), and withanolide B (WN B).

Figure 2. Image of HPTLC plate of W. somnifera at 235 nm. 1–6 tracks for standards mixture; 9, 16 (Control); 8, 15 (-Ca); 7, 14 (-K); 11, 13 (-P), and 10, 12 (-N).

Table 1. Effect of macronutrient deficiency on withanoside V (WE V), withaferine A (WF A), 1, 2 deoxy-withastramonolide (1,2-DWM), withanolide A (WN A), withanolide B (WN B), major withanolides (MW), total withanolides (TW), molybdenum (Mo) content and antioxidant activity of healthy (control), calcium-deficient (-Ca), potassium-deficient (-K), phosphorus-deficient (-P), and nitrogen-deficient (-N) W. somnifera plant.

Sample	Control	-Ca	-K	-P	-N
WS V (mg/g)	2.23 ± 0.6	1.54 ± 0.7	1.14 ± 0.8	1.54 ± 0.8	0.0 ± 0.0
WF A (mg/g)	12.7 ± 2.7	10.25 ± 3.0	12.57 ± 3.4	9.25 ± 2.2	7.79 ± 2.2
1,2-DWA (mg/g)	1.52 ± 0.6	0.52 ± 0.3	0.76 ± 0.2	0.46 ± 0.8	1.31 ± 0.6
WN A (mg/g)	3.52 ± 1.2	4.72 ± 1.7	3.68 ± 1.7	4.31 ± 0.8	3.05 ± 1.2
WN B (mg/g)	2.97 ± 0.7	3.41 ± 0.7	2.57 ± 1.1	4.13 ± 1.4	2.59 ± 0.9
MW HPTLC (mg/g)	22.9 ± 2.2	20.4 ± 3.8	20.7 ± 4.9	19.6 ± 3.1	14.7 ± 3.4
TW spectroscopy (mg/g)	55.9 ± 1.7	50.1 ± 1.1	49.3 ± 1.7	47.5 ± 4.7	35.1 ± 2.7
Mo (ppm)	33.9 ± 1.6	17.1 ± 0.9	33.5 ± 3.3	13.1 ± 1.6	7.02 ± 2.1
Reduction in MW (%)	–	11.08	9.68	14.17	35.75
Reduction in TW (%)	–	10.38	11.81	15.03	37.21
Free radical scavenging activity at 100 μg (%)	35.3 ± 1.1	31.7 ± 1.5	32.9 ± 1.7	30.5 ± 2.1	24.7 ± 2.2

Each value is mean ± standard deviation (SD) of 15 samples.

Figure 3. Graph of regression (R²) analysis of WE V, WF A, 1, 2 DWM, WN A, and WN B with Mo content in the roots of control (A) and in -N plants (B).