To understand the relationship between the structure and the remarkably diverse bioactivities reported for withanolides, we obtained withaferin A (WA; 1) and 36 analogues (2–37) and compared their cytotoxicity to cytoprotective heat-shock-inducing activity (HSA). By analyzing structure–activity relationships for the series, we found that the ring A enone is essential for both bioactivities. Acetylation of 27-OH of 4-epi-WA (28) to 33 enhanced both ...