Deepak Pradhan։ Can Withaferin-A Help Combat Drug-Resistant Malaria?
Deepak Pradhan, Assistant Professor at Siksha o Anusandhan University, shared a post on LinkedIn about a recent article he and his colleagues co-authored, published in Pharmacological Research – Natural Products, adding:
” Excited to share my latest research, now published in Pharmacological Research – Natural Products (Elsevier)!
‘Preliminary evaluation of oxidative stress responses to withaferin-A in Plasmodium-infected erythrocytes and computational target screening’
Malaria remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, and growing resistance to frontline artemisinin therapies makes the hunt for new antimalarial strategies more urgent than ever.
In this study, we investigated withaferin-A – a bioactive steroidal lactone from Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) – as a potential weapon against the malaria parasite.
Key highlights:
- Withaferin-A triggered oxidative stress (ROS) responses in Plasmodium-infected red blood cells, pointing to a redox-driven mechanism of action.
- Computational target screening identified promising parasite targets, offering mechanistic clues to how this phytochemical disrupts parasite survival.
- Together, the findings position withaferin-A as a promising natural lead worth advancing against drug-resistant malaria.
This work continues our lab’s mission to bridge traditional medicinal plants with modern pharmacology and computational drug discovery.
Heartfelt thanks to my co-authors – Prativa Biswasroy, Dilip Kumar Pradhan, Manish Ramchandani, Goutam Ghosh, Goutam Rath, and Durga Madhab Kar – and to the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt. of India, for supporting this research.”
Title: Preliminary evaluation of oxidative stress responses to withaferin-A in Plasmodium-infected erythrocytes and computational target screening
Authors: Deepak Pradhan, Prativa Biswasroy, Dilip Kumar Pradhan, Manish Ramchandani, Goutam Ghosh, Goutam Rath, Durga Madhab Kar
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