ashwagandha-hdl-c

Chronically stressed people taking an ashwagandha extract for 60 days saw improvements with regard to anxiety, well-being, and serum health parameters. Cortisol decreased (by 14.5% for 125 mg/day, 24.2% for 250 mg/day, and 30.5% for 500 mg/day), as did LDL-C (by 17.4% for 500 mg/day) and VLDL-C (by 23.9% for 500 mg/day), while HDL-C increased (by 17.3% for 500 mg/day).

Authors are involved with companies that produce ashwagandha supplements, Nutragenesis and Natreon

Supplementation of 400mg of ashwagandha thrice daily for the course of one month in adults on medication and who also had metabolic syndrome noted that supplementation was able to reduce triglycerides (12%) and blood glucose (13%) with no apparent influence on HDL-C; there was no adverse interaction between ashwagandha and the medications noted.

In an exploratory toxicological study in otherwise healthy persons, supplementation of a water extract at 750 mg for 10 days followed by 1,000 mg and 1,250 mg for 10 days each (equivalent to 6 g, 8g , and 10 g of the dry root) noted a 9.3% reduction in total cholesterol which was thought to be due to LDL cholesterol (trending to decrease) and a significant increase in strength in the quadricep and back extensor muscles (but not grip) was noted after 30 days despite no exercise.