# A comparative gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) profiling of Egyptian and Indian ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) root extracts

## TL;DR

This study compares the chemical composition of Egyptian and Indian ashwagandha root extracts using GC-MS to identify differences in their bioactive compounds.

## Contribution

The study provides a comparative GC-MS analysis of Egyptian and Indian ashwagandha root extracts, highlighting differences in bioactive compound percentages.

## Key findings

- Egyptian ashwagandha extract has higher percentages of campesterol, stigmasterol, and n-hexadecanoic acid compared to Indian extract.
- Indian ashwagandha extract contains higher percentages of ҫ-sitosterol, oleic acid, and 9,12-octadecadienoic acid than the Egyptian extract.
- Both extracts contain essential bioactive compounds beneficial to human health, with Egyptian extract showing higher levels of most active compounds.

## Abstract

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is a woody shrub that grows up to 2 feet in height. Ashwagandha roots extract has been used as a traditional herbal medicine for centuries because it has phytochemicals. This study aimed to analyse the chemical composition of both the Egyptian and Indian ashwagandha roots’ extracts by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Both extracts analysis by GC-MS found that they contain essential compounds that have important health benefits. Both Egyptian and Indian ashwagandha extracts contain phytosterols and fatty acids with different area percentages. From the comparison between the ashwagandha extracts of the present study, it is revealed that the Egyptian ashwagandha extract contains higher area percentages of campesterol (28.70%), stigmasterol (16.11%), n-hexadecanoic acid (17.43%), octadecanoic acid (2.59%), 1-heptatriacotanol (1.64%) and atropine (1.49%) than those present in the Indian extract. On the other side, the Indian ashwagandha extract contains higher area percentages of ҫ-sitosterol (20.34%), oleic acid (9.14%), 9,12-octadecadienoic acid (Z, Z) (8.62%) and hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester (0.96%) than those present in the Egyptian extract. Depending on the analysis of the Egyptian and Indian ashwagandha extracts, it is concluded that both extracts contain essential bioactive compounds with vital effects on human health. The Egyptian ashwagandha extract is available, low cost and contains higher area percentages in the most bioactive compounds than were found in the Indian ashwagandha extract.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-025-25896-3.