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Randomized trial · measured other health measures

8-week trial in 141 adults: all groups improved, but one ashwagandha extract did better

West and colleagues · Journal of medicine and life · 2026

Original title: A proprietary herbal extract of ashwagandha root for stress and anxiety in healthy adults: a randomized, double-blind, three-arm, placebo-controlled efficacy and safety study.

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What the study found

Points to benefit

All three groups, including placebo, had lower cortisol and better stress (P < 0.0001) and anxiety (P = 0.001) scores. The proprietary extract beat both the standard extract and placebo on stress, anxiety and mood scores (P < 0.05).

The study at a glance

Type of study
Randomized trial
Who or what was studied
141 people · healthy adults aged 18 to 65 with moderate stress and anxiety
What was tested
300 mg twice a day for 8 weeks of a proprietary ashwagandha extract, or of a standard ashwagandha extract, vs placebo
What it measured
Several kinds of outcomes
Daily amount
600 mg a day
How long
8 weeks
Who has a stake
No stake declared
No competing interests declared.
Journal
Journal of medicine and life, 2026
Source
PubMed record 41815853. 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: 141 people.
  • –Short: 8 weeks. Longer-term effects are unknown.
  • •Measured several kinds of outcomes.
  • ✓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

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

  2. Trials in people: other measures

    6

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

    ↑ This study is the ringed dot

  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 4 papers on the same step: 2 benefit, 1 mixed, 1 no difference. This one found benefit.

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 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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