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Systematic review

Review of 9 trials in stressed adults found lower cortisol with ashwagandha

Della Porta and colleagues · Nutrients · 2023

Original title: Effects of Withania somnifera on Cortisol Levels in Stressed Human Subjects: A Systematic Review.

Under review. A person has not yet checked this summary against the paper. It is written from the PubMed abstract. Until a person checks it, search engines are asked not to list this page.

What the study found

Points to benefit

Nine studies met the criteria. The review says ashwagandha lowered cortisol with no major side effects. No study checked whether this affected adrenal gland function or long-term health.

The study at a glance

Type of study
Systematic review
Who or what was studied
9 studies · stressed adults in 9 trials
What was tested
Ashwagandha supplements for 30 to 112 days; doses and forms varied
What it measured
Lab tests or markers
Who has a stake
No stake declared
No competing interests declared.
Journal
Nutrients, 2023
Source
PubMed record 38140274. This page is based on the abstract only.

How much this study counts

  • •Sums up 9 studies found with a set search method, without pooling the numbers.
  • –Measured lab tests or markers, which stand in for stress, anxiety and cortisol. A better marker does not always mean better health.
  • ✓No competing interests declared.
  • •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

This paper is not on the ladder. It is a systematic review, and reviews and opinion pieces discuss studies that are already counted on the steps below.

↑ Stronger evidence

  1. Trials in people: stress and anxiety

    9

    7 benefit, 2 no difference

  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

Other reviews on this question

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 two reads agreed on every checked field. 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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