Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Rapid High-throughput Species Identification of Botanical Material Using Direct Analysis in Real Time High Resolution Mass Spectrometry
Published on: October 2, 2016
Genetic and phytochemical difference between some Indian and Italian plants of Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal
P Scartezzini1, F Antognoni, L Conte
1Department of Biology E.S, University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 42, 40126, Bologna, Italy. paolo.scartezzini@unibo.it
Abstract:
The geographical distribution of Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal is quite wide. However, in Italy, this species is very rare and grows spontaneously only in Sicily and in Sardinia. The PCR-RAPD technique has been utilized in this work to determine the genetic relationship among Sicilian, Sardinian and Indian samples and the HPLC analysis of whitaferin A was used as a marker to evaluate the phytochemical differences. The genetic difference between Indian and Sicilian plants of W. somnifera turned out to be smaller than that between Indian and Sardinian plants of this species. The phytochemical analysis as well showed that the Sardinian specimen strongly differed from the Indian and Sicilian ones in its contents of withaferin A. Our results seem to confirm the hypothesis that the Italian populations of this species may not be indigenous but naturalised. Due to the high withaferin A content of the Sardinian samples, these plants could be used as a source for pharmaceutical purposes.
Related Concept Videos
Principles of Pharmacogenetics: Types of Genetic Variants
Drug toxicity: Idiosyncratic Reactions
Pharmacogenetic Phenotypes: Alterations in Pharmacokinetics, Drug Targets and Biologic Milieu
Pharmacogenetics of Drug Metabolism: Overview
Pharmacogenetics of Drug Targets: β₂-Adrenergic Receptors, Apo E, Thymidylate Synthase

