NR-001
Ingredient Atlas entry · Herb
Ashwagandha
Withania somnifera, from the nightshade family
A root used in Ayurveda for centuries and now widely studied for stress and sleep. Here is every study in people we could find, sorted and summarised.
- Part used: root
- Most tested: 600 mg a day
- Usually 8 weeks
The research map
From every paper to the studies that matter
Most research on ashwagandha is in the lab. Only a small share tests it in people, and that is what this page is about.
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2,258 papers mention ashwagandha.Every record in PubMed, all years
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196 are about people.The rest: 1,117 lab and animal studies, 354 reviews, 591 on chemistry, farming and more
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106 give ashwagandha on its own.40 more test it inside a blend
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84 are randomised against a placebo.Randomised controlled trials In a randomised controlled trial, people are put into groups by chance, one taking the treatment and one a placebo or other comparison. Chance spreads differences such as age and health evenly, so a difference between the groups is more likely to be down to the treatment., the strongest kind of study
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79 read in full so far.Every number checked against the paper
Bar lengths use a square-root scale so the small numbers stay visible.
At a glance
How much research there is
- 106 studies giving ashwagandha to people
- 84 of them randomised against a placebo A placebo-controlled trial compares a real treatment with a dummy that looks the same, the placebo. People often feel better when they expect to, so comparing against a placebo shows how much of the change comes from the treatment itself.
- 9,160 people taking part, where studies say
- 65 systematic reviews A systematic review searches for every study on a question in a set, written-down way, judges the quality of each and sums up what they show together. Many include a meta-analysis. The Atlas lists these as pooled reviews. pooling the trials
Studies in people, by year published
Ashwagandha on its own. Research has sped up sharply since 2019.
Randomised, placebo-controlled
Other designs
What was measured
What the studies looked at
Each study can measure several things. Choose a topic to see its studies in the list below.
Studies in people with a diagnosed condition are counted here and listed with their population. We describe what they measured, not what they might treat. Most studies also report safety; see below.
What reviews have found
Results when trials are pooled
Systematic reviews combine several trials into one estimate. Each line is one review's result with its 95% range. Further right means a bigger average effect for ashwagandha; a line crossing zero means no clear effect.
- Sleep qualityCheah 20210.590.42 to 0.75
- Perceived stressMarchi 20250.950.43 to 1.46
- Perceived stressAlbalawi 20250.36-0.47 to 1.19
- Exercise performanceLi 20260.470.25 to 0.69
- MemoryZhu 20260.520.27 to 0.78
- AttentionZhu 20260.290.07 to 0.51
- StrengthZhu 20260.580.12 to 1.04
Favours ashwagandha →
Effect size
An effect size says how big a difference is, in a way that can be compared across studies. A common rule of thumb is that 0.2 is small, 0.5 moderate and 0.8 large. A result can be statistically significant and still have a small effect size.: 0.2 is small, 0.5 moderate, 0.8 large.Reviews share many of the same trials.
Doses and extracts
What was tested, and how much
Extracts are made in different ways, so the same number of milligrams can mean very different amounts of the plant's active compounds.
Daily amount, one dot per study
Summary readRead in full14 studies don't give a daily amount in their summary and aren't shown.
Studies per extract
Named extracts are the maker's brand. "Not named" means the study didn't say.
Every study
All studies in people
Filter the list, then open a study on PubMed. A result shows once we've read the full paper.
| Study | Who took part | People | Extract and daily dose | Length | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chopra 2026RCT, placebo | Healthy adults after COVISHIELD vaccination | 1,200 | Not named, 500 mg | 24 weeks | Mixed results |
| Pakhale 2026RCT, placebo | Adults 18-65 with stress and anxiety | 1,002 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 8 weeks | Unclear |
| Movva 2026RCT, placebo | Adults 18-50 meeting DSM-5 criteria for sleep disturbance (taking over 30 minutes to fall asleep, 6.5 hours or less a night) | 200 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 8 weeks | Positive result |
| Salve 2026Observational | Healthy adults 18-65 | 191 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 52 weeks | Mixed results |
| McKinney 2026RCT, placebo | Highly stressed adults 18-65 (PSS 27-40), otherwise healthy | 186 | VL-G-E12, 350 mg | 9 weeks | Positive result |
| Movva 2026Single-arm or open-label | Healthy adults 18-65 | 145 | KSM-66, 2,000 mg | 12 weeks | Unclear |
| West 2026RCT, placebo | Otherwise healthy adults 18-65 with mild to moderate stress and anxiety, mostly women, in India and the USA | 141 | Not named, 600 mg | 8 weeks | Mixed results |
| Thanawala 2026RCT, placebo | Healthy adults 20-55 with moderate perceived stress (PSS 14-26) | 135 | AshwaSR, 150 or 300 mg | 9 weeks | Positive result |
| Kale 2026RCT, placebo | Adults 30-75 with cognition and energy problems | 120 | Not named, 600 mg | 8 weeks | Mixed results |
| Saxena 2026RCT, placebo | Children 6-12 with attention or memory concerns | 85 | KSM-66, 300 mg | 8 weeks | Positive result |
| Thanawala 2026RCT, placebo | Recreationally active healthy adults 25-50 with BMI 25-29.9, new to strength training, on a supervised exercise programme | 84 | AshwaSR, 300 mg | 13 weeks | Positive result |
| Khanna 2026RCT, placebo | Otherwise healthy men 30-50 with mild to moderate sexual dysfunction (IIEF 11-16) | 76 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 8 weeks | Positive result |
| Ajgaonkar 2026RCT, active or other control | Pregnant women in second trimester | 70 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 12 weeks | Mixed results |
| Obhrai 2026RCT, placebo | Postmenopausal women aged 45-65 | 66 | Not named, 600 mg | 12 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Pattojoshi 2026RCT, placebo | Adults with stress, anxiety and hypertension | 60 | Ashwagen, 600 mg | 9 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Zubair 2026Non-randomised controlled | Patients with hyperlipidemia | 60 | Not named, 1,000 mg | 13 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Lopresti 2026RCT, placebo | Adults 18-65 with self-reported stress | 60 | Ashwa.30, 30 mg | 4 weeks | Mixed results |
| Naik 2026RCT, placebo | Children aged 6-12 with mild ADHD, not taking ADHD medication | 58 | KSM-66, 300 mg | 8 weeks | Positive result |
| Coope 2026RCT, placebo | Sub-elite male and female team sport athletes (rugby, water polo, football) aged 18-35 in pre-season training | 56 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 6 weeks | Mixed results |
| Honnutagi 2026RCT, placebo | Healthy elderly men and women 60-85 | 50 | Not named, 600 mg | 8 weeks | Positive result |
| Marder 2026RCT, placebo | Adults with schizophrenia on antipsychotics | 47 | Not named | 12 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Vaidya 2026RCT, placebo | Healthy adults aged 50-70 | 42 | LongeFera, 400 mg | 26 weeks | Unclear |
| Ferreira 2026RCT, placebo | Amateur male handball players (mean age 20) | 31 | Not named, 600 mg | 1 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Heo 2026Single-arm or open-label | Adults with advanced non-small cell lung cancer after all standard treatments (all 9 enrolled were women) | 9 | RH324, 1,000 or 2,000 or 4,000 mg | 4 weeks | Unclear |
| Speers 2026Pharmacokinetic | Healthy, cognitively unimpaired older adults aged 65 and over (mean age 71) | 4 | Shoden, 240 or 480 mg | – | Unclear |
| Jillella 2026RCT, placebo | Adults 18-60 with hair loss or skin conditions | – | Not named, 600 mg | 11 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Prajapati 2026RCT, placebo | Healthy adults | – | Ashwa.30, 30 mg | 8 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Kulkarni-Munshi 2025RCT, active or other control | Indian healthcare workers aged 20-69 who tested negative for COVID-19 | 400 | Not named, 500 mg | 12 weeks | Unclear |
| Pingali 2025RCT, placebo | Postmenopausal women aged 40-55 without major illness | 127 | Sensoril, 250 or 500 mg | 24 weeks | Positive result |
| Mutha 2025RCT, placebo | Healthy men aged 30-50 | 100 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 8 weeks | Positive result |
| Pakhale 2025RCT, placebo | Adults 19-65 with stress and excess weight | 100 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 24 weeks | Positive result |
| Mahadevan 2025RCT, placebo | Adults with mild-moderate non-chronic stress | 90 | Zenroot, 125 mg | 12 weeks | Mixed results |
| Vani 2025RCT, placebo | Women 45-55 with menopausal symptoms | 60 | KSM-66 | 8 weeks | Positive result |
| Ballesteros-Torres 2025RCT, placebo | Mexican adults with overweight or obesity | 43 | Not named, 500 mg | 6 weeks | Mixed results |
| Ewa 2025RCT, placebo | Healthy male physical education students about 20 years old, not competitive athletes, on a supervised 8-week rowing HIIT programme | 41 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 8 weeks | No difference |
| Rai 2025RCT, placebo | Adults with mild cognitive impairment | 40 | Somin-On, 250 mg | 9 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Charmas 2025RCT, placebo | Healthy young men doing HIIT | 38 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 8 weeks | No difference |
| Coope 2025RCT, placebo | Professional female footballers | 30 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 4 weeks | Mixed results |
| Ramapalaniappan 2025Pharmacokinetic | Healthy non-smoking adults 18-55, after an overnight fast | 20 | Zenroot, 125 or 600 or 500 mg | – | Unclear |
| Rathi 2025Pharmacokinetic | Healthy adult men 18-45 | 16 | WS-35, WS-10, WS-5, WS-2.5, 480 or 1,800 or 3,700 or 7,400 mg | – | Unclear |
| Sharma 2025Pharmacokinetic | Healthy male and female volunteers | – | Not named, 400 mg | – | Not read in full yet |
| Gierczuk 2025RCT, placebo | Elite national team wrestlers | – | Not named, 600 mg | 8 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Pandit 2024RCT, placebo | Chronically stressed adults | 131 | Sensoril | 8 weeks | Positive result |
| Majeed 2024RCT, placebo | Adults with mild-moderate depression and anxiety | 70 | Not named, 500 mg | 13 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Leonard 2024RCT, placebo | Healthy adults 18-60 (mean age 22.7) | 60 | NooGandha (liposomal), 225 mg | 4 weeks | No difference |
| Mishra 2024RCT, placebo | Adults with generalized anxiety and high cortisol | 60 | Shoden | 9 weeks | Positive result |
| Shivu 2024Non-randomised controlled | Patients with oral lichen planus | 30 | Not namedOn the skin | 3 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Vaidya 2024Pharmacokinetic | Healthy adult men | 18 | Witholytin (AgeVel), 500 mg | – | Not read in full yet |
| Vaidya 2024Single-arm or open-label | Healthy men (inclusion stated as 18-45 in one place, 18-60 in another; mean age 32.5) | 18 | AgeVel / Witholytin, 1,000 mg | 4 weeks | Unclear |
| Raut 2024RCT, placebo | Healthy volunteers | – | Agewel (Pharmanza), 500 mg | 9 weeks | Mixed results |
| Smith 2023RCT, placebo | Overweight or mildly obese adults 40-75 with stress, fatigue | 120 | Witholytin, 400 mg | 12 weeks | Mixed results |
| Verma 2023RCT, placebo | Healthy active adults doing resistance training | 80 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 8 weeks | Positive result |
| Yerram 2023RCT, placebo | Healthy adults 18-45 with mild to moderate hair loss, including androgenic alopecia | 68 | KSM-66On the skin | 11 weeks | Positive result |
| Narra 2023RCT, placebo | Healthy adults 18-60 with photoaged facial skin (Fitzpatrick III-VI) | 56 | KSM-66On the skin | 9 weeks | Positive result |
| Majeed 2023RCT, placebo | Adults 21-54 with mild to moderate stress and anxiety (PSS 15-24, GAD-7 under 15), otherwise healthy | 54 | Shagandha, 500 mg | 9 weeks | Positive result |
| Singh 2022RCT, placebo | Adults 40-70 with stable COPD (GOLD 2-3) on standard medicines | 150 | Not named, 500 mg | 12 weeks | Mixed results |
| Ajgaonkar 2022RCT, placebo | Women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder | 80 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 8 weeks | Mixed results |
| Remenapp 2022RCT, placebo | Healthy adults with perceived stress | 60 | NooGandha, 400 mg | 4 weeks | Mixed results |
| O'Connor 2022RCT, placebo | Healthy college students | 60 | Not named, 700 mg | 4 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Chauhan 2022RCT, placebo | Otherwise healthy Indian men 21-45 with low sexual desire | 50 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 8 weeks | Positive result |
| Xing 2022Crossover, placebo | Healthy volunteers, acute dose | 13 | NooGandha, 400 mg | – | Mixed results |
| Gopukumar 2021RCT, placebo | Healthy stressed adults aged 20-55 | 130 | Prolanza, 300 mg | 13 weeks | Mixed results |
| Gopal 2021RCT, placebo | Perimenopausal women with climacteric symptoms | 100 | Not named, 600 mg | 8 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Langade 2021RCT, placebo | Healthy adults and adults with insomnia | 80 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 8 weeks | Positive result |
| Verma 2021RCT, placebo | Healthy adult volunteers | 80 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 8 weeks | Unclear |
| Tiwari 2021RCT, placebo | Healthy athletic adults | 50 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 8 weeks | Positive result |
| Fuladi 2021RCT, placebo | Patients with GAD on SSRIs | 40 | Not named, 1,000 mg | 6 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Tharakan 2021RCT, placebo | Healthy adults | 24 | Shoden, 60 mg | 4 weeks | Positive result |
| Deshpande 2020RCT, placebo | Healthy adults with non-restorative sleep | 150 | Shoden, 120 mg | 6 weeks | Positive result |
| Kelgane 2020RCT, placebo | Elderly adults aged 65-80 | 50 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 12 weeks | Positive result |
| Gannon 2019RCT, placebo | Adults with schizophrenia and depression or anxiety symptoms (secondary analysis) | 66 | Not named, 1,000 mg | 12 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Lopresti 2019RCT, placebo | Stressed healthy adults | 60 | Shoden, 240 mg | 9 weeks | Mixed results |
| Langade 2019RCT, placebo | Adults with insomnia and anxiety | 60 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 10 weeks | Positive result |
| Salve 2019RCT, placebo | Stressed healthy adults, PSS above 20 | 60 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 8 weeks | Positive result |
| Lopresti 2019Crossover, placebo | Overweight men aged 40-70 with mild fatigue | 57 | Shoden | 8 weeks | Mixed results |
| Nasimi Doost Azgomi 2018RCT, active or other control | Men with idiopathic infertility | 100 | Not named, 5,000 mg | 13 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Chengappa 2018RCT, placebo | Patients with schizophrenia exacerbation | 66 | Sensoril, 1,000 mg | 12 weeks | Mixed results |
| Kumar 2018RCT, placebo | Newly diagnosed pulmonary TB patients on DOTS | 60 | Not named | 12 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Sharma 2018RCT, placebo | Adults with subclinical hypothyroidism | 50 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 8 weeks | Positive result |
| Ziegenfuss 2018RCT, placebo | Recreationally active men | 38 | Sensoril, 500 mg | 12 weeks | Mixed results |
| Choudhary 2017RCT, placebo | Adults under chronic stress | 52 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 8 weeks | Positive result |
| Choudhary 2017RCT, placebo | Adults with mild cognitive impairment | 50 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 8 weeks | Positive result |
| Ramakanth 2016RCT, placebo | Adults with knee joint pain | 60 | Sensoril, 500 mg | 12 weeks | Positive result |
| Jahanbakhsh 2016RCT, placebo | Patients with OCD on SSRIs | 30 | Not named, 120 mg | 6 weeks | Positive result |
| Wankhede 2015RCT, placebo | Young men in resistance training | 57 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 8 weeks | Positive result |
| Dongre 2015RCT, placebo | Women seeking better sexual function | 50 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 8 weeks | Positive result |
| Choudhary 2015RCT, placebo | Healthy athletic adults | 50 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 12 weeks | Positive result |
| Gannon 2014RCT, placebo | Adults with stable bipolar disorder on their usual medicines; thyroid safety analysis of a cognition trial | 60 | Sensoril, 500 mg | 8 weeks | No difference |
| Kuchewar 2014RCT, placebo | Healthy staff and students aged 18-45 at an Ayurveda college | 30 | Not named, 1,000 mg | 26 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Pingali 2014Crossover, placebo | Healthy adult males | 20 | Sensoril, 1,000 mg | 2 weeks | Mixed results |
| Gupta 2013Single-arm or open-label | Infertile men plus healthy controls | 230 | Not named, 5,000 mg | 13 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Biswal 2013Non-randomised controlled | Breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy | 100 | Not named, 6,000 mg | – | Positive result |
| Chengappa 2013RCT, placebo | Euthymic adults with bipolar disorder | 60 | Sensoril, 500 mg | 8 weeks | Mixed results |
| Ambiye 2013RCT, placebo | Men with oligospermia | 46 | KSM-66, 675 mg | 13 weeks | Unclear |
| Agnihotri 2013RCT, placebo | Adults with schizophrenia taking second-generation antipsychotics for 6 months or more who had metabolic syndrome (high triglycerides, low HDL, fasting glucose over 100 mg/dl) | 30 | Strelaxin (Pharmanza), 1,200 mg | 4 weeks | Positive result |
| Chandrasekhar 2012RCT, placebo | Adults with chronic stress | 64 | KSM-66, 600 mg | 9 weeks | Positive result |
| Shenoy 2012RCT, placebo | Elite Indian cyclists aged 18-27 (20 men, 20 women) | 40 | Not named, 1,000 mg | 8 weeks | Unclear |
| Raut 2012Single-arm or open-label | Healthy volunteers aged 18-30 (12 men, 6 women) | 18 | Not named, 750–1,250 mg | 4 weeks | Unclear |
| Mamidi 2011RCT, placebo | Men with psychogenic erectile dysfunction | 95 | Not named, 6,000 mg | 9 weeks | No difference |
| Mahdi 2011Single-arm or open-label | Infertile men: smokers, stressed, unexplained | 60 | Not named, 5,000 mg | 13 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Ahmad 2010Non-randomised controlled | Infertile men vs fertile controls | 150 | Not named | – | Not read in full yet |
| Mishra 2010RCT, placebo | Children aged 3-12 with signs of undernutrition (Karshya), Ayurvedic outpatients | 121 | Not named | – | Not read in full yet |
| Sandhu 2010RCT, placebo | Healthy young adults 18-25 (university students not in regular gym training) | 40 | Not named, 500 mg | 8 weeks | No difference |
| Mikolai 2009Single-arm or open-label | Five participants, immune cell study | 5 | Not named | 1 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Andrade 2000Controlled, allocation not stated | Patients with ICD-10 anxiety disorders | 39 | Not named | 6 weeks | Not read in full yet |
| Andallu 2000Single-arm or open-label | Mild NIDDM and hypercholesterolemic adults | 12 | Not named | 4 weeks | Not read in full yet |
Safety
What's known about safety
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In trials
Generally well tolerated over 8 to 12 weeks. Stomach upset and drowsiness are reported most often.
NCCIH, updated March 2023; 23-trial safety review, Coope 2026
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Rare liver injury
Case reports describe liver injury starting 2 to 12 weeks after people began taking it. How often it happens isn't known.
50 case reports and series found; Björnsson 2020; Philips 2023; TGA 2026; LiverTox
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Check first
Avoid in pregnancy and breastfeeding. Speak to a doctor first with a thyroid or autoimmune condition, before surgery, or if you take regular medicines.
NCCIH, updated March 2023
How we built this
Where these studies come from
We list every published study of ashwagandha in people, and read the important ones in full.
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We search
PubMed, the world's main library of medical research, for every paper on ashwagandha.
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We keep studies in people
Lab and animal work is counted but left out of the results, because it doesn't tell you what happens in people.
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We note the basics
Who took part, how many, which extract, how much and for how long, from each study's published summary.
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We read them in full
Results appear once we've read the whole paper and checked every number. The date at the top shows when this entry was last updated.
Download the study list
Every study in people as a spreadsheet, 106 rows, free to reuse with a link back.
Versions
Each update to the data gets a new version number, so you can tell what changed and when.
See every version
1.2 · 19 Oct 2026. A new check for studies the search could have missed found three more of ashwagandha on its own (on semen quality, on cholesterol, and one applied inside the mouth), now listed from their summaries. Every paper that mentions people is now screened, and a second, differently worded search finds nothing new. The count of people taking part now leaves out observational studies An observational study watches what people already do, such as how much coffee they drink, and looks for links with their health. It can't show that one thing causes another, because people who differ in one habit often differ in others too. of past users, and the study list download is a separate file.
1.1 · 19 Oct 2026. 28 more studies read in full, so 79 of the 103 studies of ashwagandha on its own now have checked results. Three left the list: two gave ashwagandha in a blend or to every group, and one is a second report of a trial already listed.
1.0 · 19 Oct 2026. First release. Every published study giving ashwagandha on its own to people is listed, and 51 are read in full with their results.
Keep exploring
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- Ashwagandha side effects: who shouldn't take itWhat the latest trials show about ashwagandha's side effects, the rare liver risk, its effects on thyroid and hormones, and who shouldn't take it.
From Nooroots
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Ashwagandha & Lion's Mane
Our supplement contains KSM-66 ashwagandha root extract with lion's mane. This page is written to the same standard either way, and the research above isn't about our product.