Ashwagandha
Withania somnifera research | Sleep • Stress Measures • Safety Signals
Common names: withania somnifera · winter cherry · indian ginseng · ashwagandha root · withanolides
- Evidence searched through
- August 28, 2026
- Last reviewed
- August 28, 2026
- Current version
- 1.0
4V Take
What the research shows.
Ashwagandha research includes small human trials and pooled reviews of sleep and stress-related measures, along with case reports describing suspected liver injury. Plant part, extract, preparation, study population, and outcome vary across this record. Short-term trial findings and case reports answer different questions, so neither should be overextended.
Explore the evidenceResearch Interest
Why are people interested?
Researchers are studying Ashwagandha across Sleep • Stress Measures • Safety. These are areas of research interest, not guaranteed outcomes.
Evidence Context
What have researchers looked at?
This approved record brings together the research settings represented in its selected public sources. Evidence settings answer different questions, so human, animal, laboratory, and research-review findings stay distinct.
Current research context
Research stage describes the maturity of the current topic record. Source context describes the evidence settings represented in the selected public sources below; they are not interchangeable.
- Research stage
- Developing; extract-specific
- Selected source context
- Human · Mixed · Research Review
At a Glance
Research snapshot.
- 01Human Research
Small trials and pooled reviews - 02Research Stage
Developing; extract-specific - 03Most Studied Areas
Sleep • Stress Measures • Safety - 04Key Qualification
Rare safety reports need separate context
Research Pathway
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Choose a pathway to read its approved 4V Take. Each view stays focused on one question at a time.
4V Take
Researchers have studied defined ashwagandha extracts in small human trials and pooled reviews of sleep and stress-related measures. The plant part, extract, trial population, and outcome differ across studies.
- Evidence bucket
- human clinical
- Research stage
- developing clinical
- Route / format
- extract-specific oral studies
Explore the evidence
human randomized trial
Safety of Ashwagandha Root Extract: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study in Healthy Volunteers.
case series
Ashwagandha-induced liver injury: A case series from Iceland and the U.S. Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network.
case series
Ashwagandha-induced liver injury: A case series from India.
4V Take
A systematic review pooled five randomized trials of ashwagandha extract and sleep-related outcomes, reporting a modest overall signal with heterogeneity. The evidence base is limited in size and setting.
- Evidence bucket
- human clinical
- Research stage
- developing clinical
- Route / format
- ashwagandha extract in sleep trials
Explore the evidence
systematic review of randomized trials
Effect of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract on sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
human randomized trial
Safety of Ashwagandha Root Extract: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study in Healthy Volunteers.
case series
Ashwagandha-induced liver injury: A case series from Iceland and the U.S. Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network.
4V Take
A randomized, double-blind trial studied short-term tolerability and safety measures for one root extract in healthy volunteers. It cannot establish rare, delayed, or extract-independent risks.
- Evidence bucket
- human clinical
- Research stage
- developing clinical
- Route / format
- defined root extract; healthy volunteers
Explore the evidence
human randomized trial
Safety of Ashwagandha Root Extract: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study in Healthy Volunteers.
systematic review of randomized trials
Effect of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract on sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
case series
Ashwagandha-induced liver injury: A case series from Iceland and the U.S. Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network.
4V Take
Published case series describe suspected liver injury associated with ashwagandha-containing products. Case reports identify a signal that warrants context; they cannot estimate how often it occurs or establish causation for every product.
- Evidence bucket
- mixed
- Research stage
- safety signal
- Route / format
- reported ashwagandha-containing products
Explore the evidence
case series
Ashwagandha-induced liver injury: A case series from Iceland and the U.S. Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network.
case series
Ashwagandha-induced liver injury: A case series from India.
human randomized trial
Safety of Ashwagandha Root Extract: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study in Healthy Volunteers.
4V Take
Ashwagandha products sold as dietary supplements in the United States are governed under the dietary-supplement framework, which is distinct from drug approval for a health claim.
- Evidence bucket
- guideline
- Research stage
- established
- Route / format
- dietary supplement regulatory context
Explore the evidence
regulatory context
Dietary Supplements.
human randomized trial
Safety of Ashwagandha Root Extract: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study in Healthy Volunteers.
case series
Ashwagandha-induced liver injury: A case series from Iceland and the U.S. Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network.
Selected Sources
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Open an approved public source to inspect its study context, limitations, and original record where available.
human randomized trial
Safety of Ashwagandha Root Extract: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study in Healthy Volunteers.
2021 · PMID: 33338583 · peer reviewed
case series
Ashwagandha-induced liver injury: A case series from Iceland and the U.S. Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network.
2020 · PMID: 31991029 · peer reviewed
case series
Ashwagandha-induced liver injury: A case series from India.
2023 · PMID: 37756041 · peer reviewed
systematic review of randomized trials
Effect of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract on sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
2021 · PMID: 34559859 · peer reviewed
regulatory context
Dietary Supplements.
2026 · URL: https://www.fda.gov/food/dietary-supplements · government source
Research Status
Living research, deliberately tracked.
- Evidence searched globally through:
- August 28, 2026
- Last reviewed
- August 28, 2026
- Version
- 1.0
What Changed
Current record.
No later approved public release is available beyond the current topic record.
Evidence Boundaries
What are researchers still working out?
Study settings, measures, and limitations matter. A mechanism does not establish an outcome, animal or laboratory findings do not establish a human benefit, and a small study does not create consensus. Open each selected source for the approved record behind its finding.
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