People on the social media platform claim the evergreen shrub, native to Asia, Africa and the Middle East, can boost concentration and immune health, dull emotions, weaken birth control and more. And while studies have found some benefits from supplements made from the plant, gaps in research make it difficult to scientifically confirm many of ashwagandha's purported properties.
"There's a lot of research on it. however, the studies have limited data," says Yufang Lin, an integrative medicine specialist at the Cleveland Clinic.
People often take ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) in the form of powders, capsules, tablets, liquid drops or chewing gum containing extracts of the plant's roots to help themselves with stress or sleep. And research does show that supplementation can relieve perceived stress and anxiety, as well as reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol compared to placebo treatment.
In one study, participants rated their stress an average of 44% lower after taking ashwagandha for 60 days. Some studies have shown that it can help people fall asleep a few minutes faster, sleep up to 25 minutes longer, and wake up at night up to 12 minutes less, with greater benefits for insomniacs.
Experts say this could make the herb useful for those experiencing anxious, nervous types of stress, such as students who are afraid of an exam. Margaret Harris, a nutrition researcher at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, has studied the effects of the supplement ashwagandha on college students and has taken the supplement herself.
"After about nine to ten days, people in the intervention group started saying, 'You know, I feel like I can accomplish anything I want to accomplish today,'" Harris says, recalling one of her studies.
In addition to studies on ashwagandha's impact on stress and anxiety, a small body of research has reported other benefits for humans, such as reducing blood sugar, improving physical performance and muscle strength, enhancing cognitive functions such as memory and focus, and increasing testosterone, sperm count, and semen health in men. Some beneficial properties of ashwagandha may be due in part to compounds called cyanolides, which have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
And as far as experts know, ashwagandha doesn't dull emotions and make oral birth control less effective, as some TikTok content creators claim - although experts note that there are isolated cases of users feeling too sedated or having stomach aches or upset.
The limited number of prospective but controlled studies examining each of the uses mentioned - and the limited number of participants in each study - leave the confirmed benefits of ashwagandha unclear.
"In many of the studies, you'll see that dozens of people were studied, not hundreds or thousands," says Dennis Milstein, an integrative medicine specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona. She says that to make a more conclusive statement about what ashwagandha can do, more studies are needed with "enough participants to demonstrate strength, not just chance."
Even the most numerous studies on the benefits of ashwagandha in terms of stress and sleep have small samples and lasted no more than 3 months, meaning experts don't know what the impact of prolonged dosing over a longer period of time is. Experimental set-ups also varied considerably in terms of the dose and type of preparation given to participants, making it difficult to know which amounts of which extracts were best.
Most studies consider ashwagandha in the context of Ayurvedic medicine, an ancient Indian practice based on holistic healing. Milstein notes that while traditional botanical practices such as Ayurveda combine ashwagandha with other relaxants such as chamomile, lemon balm and rhodiola, many people today take the herb on its own, so future research may benefit from comparing the two approaches.
None of this necessarily means the plant isn't useful, Milstein says, only that more research is needed.
"There's a lot of wisdom in the tradition, so it shouldn't be thrown out the window just because randomized controlled trials are lacking. This is especially true given that ashwagandha is generally safe," she adds.
Although some groups should be wary of it - especially pregnant women, since high doses can lead to miscarriage - for most people, "a lot of the studies show that it really doesn't cause a lot of side effects," Harris says.
"Just keep in mind that the plant is not a miracle cure, experts say. You may need more than a supplement to ease your mind if you have severe anxiety, or to help you fall asleep if you're scrolling through social media late at night. In Lin's practice, she works with patients to create better sleep, diet, mental health and exercise habits to help manage stress and fatigue.
"The ashwagandha may be part of the puzzle, but you have to use it in the context of the patient's overall condition," she said. | BGNES
