Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. 600 mg of ashwagandha per day taken for 60 days improved cortisol levels, depression and anxiety in participating individuals.

Stress and anxiety take a considerable toll on our society in the form of medical care and lost productivity at work, with estimates ranging from $53 billion (1) to as high as $100 billion (2) per year. A 2002 study stated that “disability caused by stress is just as great as the disability caused by workplace accidents or other common medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and arthritis”. The study also stated the need for “early recognition of workplace stress and for businesses to allocate more resources to stress management in the workplace” (3).

Now a new study (4) suggests that Ashwagandha, a herb central to Ayruvedic medicine, may help with stress and anxiety. In the study, 64 subjects between the ages of 18 and 54, free of psychiatric conditions, scoring less than 15 on the World Health Organization-five well-being index (5) and at least 14 on the Perceived Stress Scale (6) were given either 600 milligrams per day of Ashwagandha root extract (1 300 mg capsule twice daily) (32 subjects) containing > 5% withanolides or placebo (32 subjects) for 60 days.

Before and after the study, subjects completed several questionnaires: the Perceived Stress Scale, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (7) and the 28-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (8) while also providing saliva samples to measure for the stress hormone cortisol.

After 60 days, the researcher observed the following in the Ashwagandha group:

  • A 44% decrease in Perceived Stress Scale scores (9.1-point decrease) compared to a 5.5% decrease in the placebo group (1.4-point decrease) (p < 0.0001)
  • A 72.3% decrease in their General Health Questionnaire scores (34.0 to 9.4) compared to a 2.3% drop in the placebo group (31.5 to 30.8) (p < 0.0001)
  • A 39.3% decrease in their Depression Anxiety Stress Scale scores (54.8 to 15.6) compared to a 2.8% decrease in the placebo group (54.9 to 52.1) (p < 0.0001)
  • A 4.4% increase their salivary cortisol levels (15.7 to 11.3 micrograms/deciliter) compared to a 1.2% decrease in the placebo group (15.6 to 14.4) (p < 0.002)

Even more promising was the absence of adverse events in the Ashwagandha group. The researchers attribute these results to Ashwagandha’s role as an “adaptogen” which improve an individual’s ability to cope with stress by helping normalize the physiological process of the body and help the body adapt to changes (9).

For the researches, “high-concentration full-spectrum Ashwagandha root extract improves an individual’s resistance towards stress and thereby improves self-assessed quality of life. High-concentration full-spectrum Ashwagandha root extract can be used safely as an adaptogen in adults who are under stress.”

Source: Chandrasekhar, K., Jyoti Kapoor, and Sridhar Anishetty. “A prospective, randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study of safety and efficacy of a high-concentration full-spectrum extract of ashwagandha root in reducing stress and anxiety in adults.” Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine 34.3 (2012): 255.

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Posted November 22, 2013.

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com

References:

  1. Greenberg PE, Kessler RC, Nells TL, et al. Depression in the workplace: an economic perspective. In: Feighner JP, Boyer WF, eds. Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors: advances in basic re-search and clinical practice. New York: Wiley, 1996:327–363.
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  4. Chandrasekhar K,  A Prospective, Randomized Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of Safety and Efficacy of a High-Concentration Full-Spectrum Extract of Ashwagandha Root in Reducing Stress and Anxiety in Adults.  Indian J Psychol Med. 2012 Jul-Sep; 34(3): 255–262. doi:  10.4103/0253-7176.106022
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