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Randomized trial · measured the question itself

60-day trial in 60 stressed adults: ashwagandha cut anxiety scores and morning cortisol

Lopresti and colleagues · Medicine · 2019

Original title: An investigation into the stress-relieving and pharmacological actions of an ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

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What the study found

Points to benefit

Anxiety score (HAM-A) fell more with ashwagandha than placebo (P = .040). The stress scale DASS-21 was near significant (P = .096). Morning cortisol fell more (P < .001).

The study at a glance

Type of study
Randomized trial
Who or what was studied
60 people · healthy adults who reported high stress
What was tested
240 mg a day of ashwagandha extract (Shoden) for 60 days, vs placebo
What it measured
The question itself: stress, anxiety and cortisol
Daily amount
240 mg a day
How long
8.6 weeks
Trial registration
CTRI/2017/08/009449
Who has a stake
Company stake
One author had past study funding from Arjuna Natural Extracts for unrelated studies, and speaking fees.
Journal
Medicine, 2019
Source
PubMed record 31517876. This page is based on the abstract only.

How much this study counts

  • ✓Randomized: people were put into groups by chance, so the groups start out alike.
  • ✓Compared with a placebo, a dummy treatment.
  • •Medium size: 60 people.
  • –Short: 8.6 weeks. Longer-term effects are unknown.
  • ✓Measured the question itself: stress, anxiety and cortisol.
  • –Company stake: One author had past study funding from Arjuna Natural Extracts for unrelated studies, and speaking fees.
  • •Summarized from the PubMed abstract only. The full paper may hold details the abstract leaves out.

✓ Strength– Limit• Note

These points come from fixed rules about the type of study, its size and length, what it measured, and who has a stake. Every study on Digestery gets the same rules.

Where this study sits

Each dot is one on-topic paper on this question. Steps near the top answer the question more directly.

↑ Stronger evidence

  1. Trials in people: stress and anxiety

    9

    7 benefit, 2 no difference

    ↑ This study is the ringed dot

  2. Trials in people: other measures

    6

    3 benefit, 1 mixed, 1 no difference, 1 no direction

  3. Trials in people: lab tests or safety

    1

    1 benefit

  4. Population studies

    1

    1 benefit

  5. Blood levels and genes

    0

    None among the papers we read.

↓ Weaker evidence

  • Points to benefit
  • Mixed
  • No difference
  • No direction
  • Points to harm

How it fits with the other research

The short answer to “Does ashwagandha reduce stress and anxiety?”

Possibly, but the evidence is weak.

Confidence: low. Based on 24 on-topic papers.

Read the full answer

Of the other 8 papers on the same step: 6 benefit, 2 no difference. This one found benefit. It agrees with most of them.

Other papers on the same step

See all 24 studies on this question

How this page was made

Label

First read of the abstract
Claude Sonnet
Independent second read
Claude Haiku
Differences settled
The reviewer corrected 1 field after reading the abstract. Claude Opus 5.5.
Headline
Claude Sonnet, from the checked study record. A script checked its numbers and wording.
Numbers
Checked against the abstract by a script
“How much this study counts”
Fixed rules, the same for every study
Source check by a person
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