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Ashwagandha is the root of Withania somnifera, a small shrub in the nightshade family. It grows from southern Europe to Central China and from Africa to Myanmar, and is used in the Ayurvedic and Unani systems of India as a daily tonic. Most supplements are root extracts, though some use root and leaf together; the two are not interchangeable. An Ayurvedic root taken to support a calm mood and the body's normal response to everyday stress. People also use it for sleep quality and general vitality. It carries a real liver-safety caution, which is worth reading before you start.
Educational content · traditional and historical use · not medical advice
Ashwagandha is mainly used for stress and sleep. Some trials reported lower cortisol and better sleep, especially in poor sleepers, while a 12-week study found no stress benefit. Resistance-training trials also reported greater strength. Evidence for improved semen measures remains limited. Traditionally, it is used as a daily rasayana tonic.
Most products are dried root extracts in capsules or tablets, and the branded one a trial used matters: KSM-66 is root only, standardised to at least 5% withanolides; Shoden is root and leaf, at 21 mg of withanolide glycosides per 60 mg capsule; Sensoril is root and leaf at 500 mg a day and not a like-for-like swap for a root-only extract; others include Prolanza, Witholytin and Shagandha. Traditionally the root is dried and powdered as churna, taken with warm milk or water; classical preparations include a decoction (quatha), paste (lepa), medicated oil (taila) and ghee (ghrita).
Trials used 300 mg twice a day or 600 mg once a day for six to twelve weeks. Root and leaf extracts are more concentrated and dosed far lower, as little as 120 mg. Fertility trials used 675 mg a day of whole root. Products are not interchangeable, so follow the dose for the extract you have rather than converting between them.
Trials allowed milk or water, and warm milk is the traditional carrier in Ayurveda, though neither has been shown to change absorption. One trial product added 5 mg of piperine from black pepper, but the study did not isolate what the piperine contributed. Ghee and honey are the other traditional carriers; ghee is dairy and honey is a bee product, so check both against your own allergies.
Ashwagandha is one of the classical rasayana herbs of Ayurveda, the group given to support strength and healthy ageing, and is used in the Unani system of India as asgand. It is named in the Charaka Samhita and the Sushruta Samhita, and classed as vajikarana and balya, a restorative and a strength builder. The record runs back 2,500 to 3,000 years. Adaptogen is a twentieth-century word the NIH calls loosely defined. South Asia holds the deepest record but not the only one: the South African National Biodiversity Institute documents a separate folk tradition under the Afrikaans name koorshout.
Withania somnifera root contains withanolides, a family of C-28 steroidal lactones. Withaferin A and withanolide D are most often named as the main actives, alongside withanone and the withanolide glycosides used to standardise commercial extracts. The best-supported human signal is a fall in serum cortisol in stressed adults; sedative and GABAergic activity has been reported in animals and cells rather than people. CYP findings conflict, so their clinical relevance is unsettled. The NIH notes that constituents other than the withanolides may also contribute.
Some positive human data; few or small trials
Source base: Evidence-Based
Multiple small randomised trials and positive systematic reviews support the stress and sleep outcomes: Chandrasekhar 2012 reported serum cortisol down 27.9% against 7.9% on placebo (P=0.0006), and Cheah 2021 pooled five trials and 400 participants for a sleep SMD of -0.59. Consistency is the weak point. NCCIH judges the anxiety evidence unclear, heterogeneity is substantial (I2 = 62%), and the trial base is small, short, almost entirely Indian and partly industry funded. There is no regulatory recognition: the EMA HMPC concluded that an EU herbal monograph cannot be established, and no Cochrane review specific to this species exists. A 12 week trial in 120 stressed adults, published in 2023, found no significant difference from placebo on its primary stress measure, and that null is the strongest single argument against a higher number. Dose-response note moved from dosage on 2026-09-24 (DEC-967): the trials' benefits cluster at 500 to 600 mg a day.
Photo: Ton Rulkens00 · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · resized · CC BY-SA 4.0
For informational purposes only. This entry does not constitute medical advice. Consult a qualified healthcare provider before starting any supplement, especially if you have existing health conditions, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or take prescription medications.