Two new and seven known withanolides along with beta-sitosterol, stigniasterol, beta-sitosterol glucoside, stigniasterol glucoside, alpha + beta glucose were isolated from the roots of Withania somnifera. Among the known compounds, Viscosa lactone B, stigmasterol, stigmasterol glucoside and alpha + beta glucose are being reported from the roots of W. somnifera for the first time. One of the new compounds contained the rare 16 beta-acetoxy-17(20)-ene the other contained unusual 6 alpha-hydroxy-5,7 alpha-epoxy functional groups in the withasteroid skeleton. The structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods and chemical transformations. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.