Is ashwagandha related to ginseng?

No. You will see it sold as Indian ginseng or winter cherry, but it is a member of the nightshade family and is not related to true ginseng.

What should I look for on the label?

The part used, the extract strength and the withanolide percentage. Most trials showing benefit used 300 to 600 mg a day of root extract standardised to around 5% withanolides. Cheap powders with no stated withanolide content are the least reliable.

Who should check with a professional first?

Anyone with a thyroid condition, especially on thyroid medication, anyone who is pregnant or breastfeeding, and anyone with an autoimmune condition. Please also check first if you take sedatives, anti-anxiety medication, immunosuppressants, or medication for blood sugar or blood pressure. The full list is in the final section of this article.

Ashwagandha: What It Is, How It Works, and When to Use It

Sarah Burt

Oct 14

8 min read

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is a root used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years and classed as an adaptogen, a plant traditionally used to help the body cope with sustained stress. Its best-supported effect in modern trials is on the stress response: several have measured lower cortisol and better sleep at around 300 to 600 mg of root extract a day, taken over eight to twelve weeks. It is one of the four herbs in the EarthWise Calm Nerve tonic.

Patterned bowl filled with tan powder and dried Ashwagandha on a dark table, with powder spilled beside it.

What it is

Ashwagandha is a small evergreen shrub in the nightshade family (Solanaceae), grown across India, North Africa and parts of the Mediterranean. The root is the part used in herbal medicine, and the part modern supplements are made from.

The name carries a clue. It comes from the Sanskrit ashwa (horse) and gandha (smell): partly the root's distinctive earthy, horsey scent, and partly a traditional idea that the herb lends the strength and steadiness of a horse. The species name, somnifera, is Latin for "sleep-bringing", which tells you how the plant has long been thought of.

In Ayurvedic tradition it is a rasayana, a tonic taken over months to support vitality and resilience, with mentions going back to classical texts such as the Charaka Samhita. You will also see it sold as Indian ginseng or winter cherry, though it is not related to true ginseng.

A buyer's note worth reading. Ashwagandha is now one of the best-selling herbal supplements in the UK, and that popularity has outrun the quality of much of what is sold. The active fraction, the withanolides, varies enormously between products, and many labels never state the withanolide content at all. Root and leaf also differ in their chemistry, and most of the clinical evidence is for the root. A product worth taking tells you the part used, the extract strength and the withanolide percentage. Most do not.

The active compounds

The compounds that do most of the work are the withanolides, a group of naturally occurring steroidal lactones. The most studied are withanolide A and withaferin A. Alongside them sit alkaloids and sitoindosides, which preclinical work suggests contribute too, so the whole root is more than any single molecule. Standardised extracts are usually measured by withanolide content, commonly around 5%.

It helps to know what "adaptogen" actually means, because the word is used loosely. It was coined by a Soviet scientist in the 1940s for a substance that helps the body resist a wide range of stressors and nudges it back towards a steadier baseline, without pushing it hard in one direction the way a stimulant or a sedative does. Ashwagandha is one of the classic examples.

The main mechanism: cortisol and the HPA axis. The best-supported effect is on cortisol, the hormone released as part of the body's stress response. Several trials have measured a fall in cortisol in people taking ashwagandha. The proposed route is the HPA axis (the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal loop that governs the stress response): under sustained pressure the cortisol response can stay switched on and its daily rhythm can drift, and withanolides appear to soften the size of that cortisol signal without switching it off entirely.

A second, proposed mechanism: GABA. In laboratory and animal studies, withanolides appear to enhance signalling at GABA receptors, the system that calms nervous activity and the one many sedative medicines act on. This could help explain the effects seen on falling asleep and on an over-alert, anxious state. It is biologically plausible and often cited, but it has not been confirmed in human trials, so for now it is a proposed mechanism only.

Other activity. Ashwagandha also shows antioxidant activity and, in preclinical studies, effects on inflammatory signalling (including a pathway known as NF-κB). These may feed into its reported effects on fatigue and recovery, though direct human evidence for them is limited. The honest summary: the cortisol effect is measured again and again, while the finer detail of how the herb produces its calm is still only partly understood.

What the research shows

Ashwagandha is one of the more heavily trialled herbs in this library, though most studies are modest in size and many come from India, so the evidence is encouraging but still limited. Here is how it grades.

Strongest evidence: stress, anxiety and cortisol. A 2021 systematic review pooled seven randomised controlled trials covering 491 adults with high stress or anxiety, at doses from 240 to 1,250 mg a day. It found significant reductions in stress, anxiety, fatigue and serum cortisol compared with placebo, clearest around 500 to 600 mg a day. In one well-cited trial, Lopresti and colleagues (2019) gave 240 mg a day of a standardised extract to stressed adults for 60 days and recorded lower perceived stress and fatigue alongside a fall in morning cortisol. On evidence like this, a 2022 international clinical guideline on anxiety (WFSBP and CANMAT) gave ashwagandha a provisional recommendation at 300 to 600 mg a day of root extract standardised to 5% withanolides, while noting more research is needed.

Moderate evidence: sleep quality. A trial using a root-and-leaf extract in 150 adults with insomnia symptoms found sleep quality improved in 72% of the ashwagandha group against 29% on placebo over six weeks, with movement-tracking data showing better sleep efficiency and less time awake in the night. A separate eight-week trial at 600 mg a day found better sleep quality and shorter time to fall asleep in people with insomnia. A 2021 meta-analysis of five sleep studies judged the benefit real but small, and most pronounced at 600 mg a day, at eight weeks or longer, and in people who had insomnia, with little effect in healthy sleepers.

Early evidence: focus and the mind. A sustained-release root extract given to 130 stressed adults at 300 mg a day for 90 days reported gains in memory, focus and general well-being alongside a fall in cortisol. Several small trials point the same way on attention under stress. It is early work, best treated as a promising signal.

Sarah's clinical perspective

In clinic, the person I most often reach for ashwagandha for is the one who has been running on adrenaline for so long they no longer recognise what settled feels like. They are not acutely unwell. They function, often very capably. But their sleep is light, they wake in the small hours with a busy mind, and their energy fluctuates through the day and never quite holds steady.

The pattern I am looking at is a stress response that has stayed switched on for too long, so the natural cortisol rhythm drifts: often too flat in the morning, which is why nothing happens before coffee, and too high in the evening, which is why the mind will not settle at night. Ashwagandha suits this picture when the pressure has been sustained over months. It is a herb for the long game, and I would not reach for it in an acute crisis, where there are better choices.

One distinction I think matters, because it is widely misunderstood: ashwagandha is not a sedative. Its effect on sleep is largely a downstream result of easing the cortisol load that keeps people wired at night, so it works slowly and indirectly. If someone comes to me with primary insomnia and no real stress picture, I would reach for Valerian or Passionflower first. I also use ashwagandha as part of a formula, which is why it sits in Calm Nerve alongside herbs that settle the nervous system from different angles.

Practical guidance

Dose. Most trials showing benefit used 300 to 600 mg a day of standardised root extract, usually around 5% withanolides. Whole, unstandardised root powder needs far larger amounts, on the order of several grams a day, to reach a similar withanolide level. These are the amounts researchers used, not a dosing instruction for any particular product.

Format. A well-made liquid extract (tincture) is well absorbed and easy to dose precisely. Standardised capsule extracts (you will see names like KSM-66 or Sensoril) are the best-evidenced supplement forms. Cheap powders with no stated withanolide content are the least reliable.

Time to effect. Allow six to eight weeks before judging whether it is working. This is a herb that builds over weeks, and some trials ran to twelve weeks before the full benefit showed.

Timing. There is no firm consensus. Some prefer the morning to sit with the natural cortisol rhythm; others prefer the evening if sleep is the main concern.

What it does not replace. Ashwagandha will not undo the causes of chronic stress. Sleep, steady meals and a realistic workload are the foundations, and the herb supports the body's recovery alongside those.

For how to take the EarthWise tonic specifically, the dose and full safety information are on the product page.

Common questions

How long does ashwagandha take to work? Allow six to eight weeks before judging whether it is working. This is a herb that builds over weeks, and some trials ran to twelve weeks before the full benefit showed.
Is ashwagandha a sedative? No. Its effect on sleep is largely a downstream result of easing the cortisol load that keeps people wired at night, so it works slowly and indirectly. If someone has primary insomnia and no real stress picture, I would reach for Valerian or Passionflower first.
Is ashwagandha related to ginseng? No. You will see it sold as Indian ginseng or winter cherry, but it is a member of the nightshade family and is not related to true ginseng.
What should I look for on the label? The part used, the extract strength and the withanolide percentage. Most trials showing benefit used 300 to 600 mg a day of root extract standardised to around 5% withanolides. Cheap powders with no stated withanolide content are the least reliable.
Who should check with a professional first? Anyone with a thyroid condition, especially on thyroid medication, anyone who is pregnant or breastfeeding, and anyone with an autoimmune condition. Please also check first if you take sedatives, anti-anxiety medication, immunosuppressants, or medication for blood sugar or blood pressure. The full list is in the final section of this article.

Where ashwagandha appears in the EarthWise range

Ashwagandha is one of the four herbs in Calm Nerve, Sarah's nervous-system formula, where it sits with Passionflower, Skullcap and Lemon Balm, herbs traditionally used to support a settled nervous system and resilience to everyday stress.

It also appears in Hormone Harmony, reflecting the overlap between sustained stress and hormonal wellbeing, where it is paired with Shatavari, Vitex and Holy Basil. It is also part of the Man-Ease formula within the Reset Program.

If you are not sure which formula fits, the EarthWise health quiz is the best place to start. Full safety information is on each product page.

When to seek professional support

Ashwagandha is well tolerated by most people over a few months, but there are clear situations where it is not the right choice without professional advice:

Thyroid conditions, especially if you take thyroid medication. It can affect thyroid hormone levels, so speak to your GP or practitioner first.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding. It is not recommended, and some regulators advise avoiding it entirely.
Autoimmune conditions. Some practitioners advise caution, as ashwagandha may stimulate immune activity.
Alongside certain medicines. Check first if you take sedatives, anti-anxiety medication, immunosuppressants, or medication for blood sugar or blood pressure.
Signs of liver trouble. Liver reactions are rare, but stop and see your GP if you notice yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, or unexplained nausea and abdominal discomfort.

Sarah Burt is a registered naturopath, medical herbalist and iridologist with 25+ years of clinical experience. All EarthWise tonics are formulated by Sarah based on her clinical protocols.

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This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any health condition. Always consult a qualified health practitioner before making changes to your health regimen.