Ashwagandha Reference

Plain English

What it is

Ashwagandha is a herb (Withania somnifera) used in traditional Indian medicine and sold in the US as a dietary supplement, not as an FDA-approved drug. Products are not reviewed by the FDA before they go on sale, and you will often see extracts labeled KSM-66 or Sensoril.

What people use it for

People mostly take it as a calming adaptogen for stress, anxiety, and sleep. Some who do resistance training also try it hoping for muscle or strength support, and it is sometimes grouped with nootropics (supplements marketed to sharpen the mind).

What the science shows

Several small human trials report modest but fairly reproducible drops in stress and in the stress hormone cortisol, plus some help with sleep. Evidence for anxiety is unclear, and the claims about memory, thinking, and athletic performance are largely unproven. It is not a treatment for any disease.

The catch

Because it is a supplement, quality and ingredients can vary and are not checked before sale. Liver injury has been reported and, while rare, has ranged from mild to fatal cases of liver failure. It may also raise thyroid hormone, so people with thyroid or autoimmune conditions, or those on thyroid, diabetes, or blood-pressure medicines, have reason for caution.

Reference summary

Indian and Western clinical literature in stress / cortisol / sleep / muscle-mass. Effect sizes are modest but reproducible across multiple trials.

Regulatory and posture

Categories

Nootropic, Longevity

Aliases

Withania somnifera, Indian ginseng, KSM-66, Sensoril

Evidence posture

human - Sold as a dietary supplement, not as an FDA-approved drug. Effects on stress / cortisol / muscle-mass are reported across multiple small trials; reproducibility is better than many adaptogens. Not a treatment.

Regulatory status

No FDA-approved ashwagandha drug label. Sold as a dietary supplement; common standardizations are KSM-66 and Sensoril.

Content review status

research reference