An investigation into the stress-relieving and pharmacological actions of an ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract:…
This trial was paid for by the company selling the extract and ran for 60 days in 60 people without a diagnosed anxiety disorder — does anything about my situation match the people who were actually studied?
Suggestive but preliminary. Not settled. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: Funded by Arjuna Natural Extracts Ltd, the manufacturer of the Shoden extract tested. The authors state the trial was independently managed by the site investigators and the lead author discloses prior funding from the same company for unrelated work, but the sponsor's commercial interest in a positive result is direct, and the study's own secondary psychological outcome (DASS-21) did not reach statistical significance.
Ashwagandha is sold in the US as a dietary supplement under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA).
Sixty stressed but healthy adults took 240 mg of a standardized ashwagandha extract (Shoden) or placebo daily for 60 days. Anxiety on the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale fell more with ashwagandha than placebo (p=0.040), but the broader DASS-21 stress and mood measure did not reach significance (p=0.096); morning cortisol dropped more on ashwagandha. This is a 60-person study in people without a psychiatric diagnosis, funded by the company that makes the extract.
Worth asking
This trial was paid for by the company selling the extract and ran for 60 days in 60 people without a diagnosed anxiety disorder — does anything about my situation match the people who were actually studied?
Source
An investigation into the stress-relieving and pharmacological actions of an ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. — Lopresti AL, Smith SJ, Malvi H, Kodgule R. (2019)
Indexed peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000017186
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000017186
How this was scored
- Study design
- Randomised controlled trial
- Funding
- Industry funded
- Published in
- Indexed peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 60
- Preregistered
- Yes
- Conflicts disclosed
- Yes
- Independent of proponent
- No
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 19, 2026.
Where we put this study in context
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "early signal". Suggestive but preliminary. Not settled. It scores 50 out of 100 on our published rubric. One caveat travels with that badge: Funded by Arjuna Natural Extracts Ltd, the manufacturer of the Shoden extract tested. The authors state the trial was independently managed by the site investigators and the lead author discloses prior funding from the same company for unrelated work, but the sponsor's commercial interest in a positive result is direct, and the study's own secondary psychological outcome (DASS-21) did not reach statistical significance. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
An investigation into the stress-relieving and pharmacological actions of an ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. — Lopresti AL, Smith SJ, Malvi H, Kodgule R. (2019). Published in: Indexed peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000017186. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Randomised controlled trial. Funding: Industry funded. The researchers were not independent of whoever benefits from the result. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is ashwagandha, withania somnifera, ksm-66, sensoril, shoden, indian ginseng, winter cherry, ashwagandha root extract FDA approved for this use?
No. Its current status is: Not FDA-evaluated for this use. Ashwagandha is sold in the US as a dietary supplement under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA).
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.