Solanaceae · root

Ashwagandha

Withania somnifera

Human clinical trialsUse with caution

Ayurvedic root mapped to human trials for perceived stress, sleep, and fatigue endpoints. Products and withanolide assays differ sharply.

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Safety first

Root extracts appear in human stress- and sleep-related trials. Avoid in pregnancy (traditional abortifacient caution). Thyroid effects and rare liver-injury reports attach to concentrated products — not a harmless nightly gummy.

Tradition vs trials

Traditional record. API places ashwagandha among rasayana and balya roots for depletion and tension-type patterns. Leaf is a different, more bitter drug and is not this entry.

Trial literature. Multiple small-to-moderate RCTs report stress-scale and sleep changes. Industry sponsorship is common. Rare hepatotoxicity case series involve extracts, not culinary use (the root is not a culinary spice).

Practical ranges

Educational ranges — not a prescription. Culinary use is not an extract.

root powder / extract
Traditional API-type powder ranges are often 3–6 g/day; many modern trials use 300–600 mg/day of concentrated extract. These are not interchangeable and not a prescription
Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India (API) — Educational range only — not a prescription. A licensed clinician individualizes product, dose, and duration.

Pregnancy, nursing, children

Pregnancy. Avoid. Classical texts and modern monographs treat medicinal ashwagandha as inappropriate in pregnancy.
Nursing. Insufficient reliable data; avoid unless a clinician directs otherwise.
Children. Insufficient reliable data; avoid unless a clinician directs otherwise.

Contraindications

pregnancy
known autoimmune thyroid disease without clinician oversight
unexplained jaundice or liver-enzyme rise on an extract

Key interactions

thyroid hormone · caution
May raise thyroid hormones in some people.
sedatives · caution
Additive sedation possible.
immunosuppressants · note
Theoretical immune-modulating conflict.

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