What is ashwagandha and how do people take it?

Ashwagandha is the common name for Withania somnifera, a small evergreen shrub in the nightshade family. It grows in dry parts of India, the Middle East and north Africa, and most of what is sold as a supplement is cultivated in India. The part used is almost always the root, which is dug up, dried and either ground into a powder or extracted into a concentrate.

The Sanskrit name is usually translated as "smell of a horse", which refers to the odour of the fresh root. You will notice it if you open a bag of the powder. This guide covers what the plant is, how the root is processed, how the formats differ and how people take it. It does not cover health claims, because none is authorised for ashwagandha in Great Britain.

Root, leaf and why it matters

Traditional use and most of the supplement market centre on the root. Some products use leaf, or a root-and-leaf mix, which is cheaper to grow and extract. The two parts have a different chemical make-up, so a label that says "ashwagandha extract" without naming the part is leaving out something that matters for comparison. Our listings name the part where the brand states it.

Powder versus extract

There are two basic kinds of ashwagandha product. Root powder is the dried root ground up: one ingredient, nothing concentrated. Root extract is the root steeped in water, alcohol or both, the liquid dried down and the result milled. An extract is more concentrated than the powder it came from, and brands express that as a ratio such as 5:1 or 10:1, meaning 5 kg or 10 kg of root went into 1 kg of extract.

Extracts are often standardised to a percentage of withanolides, a group of compounds found in the plant, with figures such as 2.5% or 5% on the label. That percentage is a measure of consistency between batches, not a claim about anything, and it is one of the few numbers that let you compare two extracts directly.

Branded extracts such as KSM-66 and Sensoril are trade names for specific extraction processes with a fixed withanolide percentage. If a label carries one of those names, the brand is telling you which process was used.

The formats

Capsules

The most common format. A capsule holds a fixed amount of powder or extract, typically 300 mg to 600 mg, and the pack states how many a day. Capsules avoid the taste entirely. The ashwagandha capsules we stock are 500 mg of organic extract, 60 to a pot, at two a day.

Powder

Loose root powder, sold by weight, measured with a spoon and stirred into warm milk or a drink. It has a strong, bitter, earthy taste and a distinct smell. People who use powder tend to mix it into something with its own flavour. The advantage is control: you choose the amount.

Gummies

Extract set into a chewable sweet, usually with pectin. Gummies fix the amount per piece and taste of fruit rather than root. The sugar or sweetener content is the trade-off, and the amount of ashwagandha per gummy is often lower than a capsule. We stock ashwagandha gummies.

Tinctures

Liquid extracts in alcohol or glycerine, taken by the drop. Not currently on our shelf.

How people take it

Capsules are swallowed with water, usually with a meal, at the rate the label gives. Powder is traditionally stirred into warm milk, often with a little honey or a spice; a quarter to half a teaspoon is a common starting measure, but follow the brand's own figure. Gummies are chewed, one or two at a time as the pack directs.

Labels differ on timing. Some say morning, some evening, some either. There is no single answer on the labels we have seen, so we quote what each brand says and leave it at that.

Organic and other certifications

Many ashwagandha products are sold as organic. In the UK and EU that word on a food label means the growing and processing were certified by a recognised body, and the certifier's name or code should appear on the pack. Vegan, gluten free and non-GMO are the other common statements. They describe the capsule shell, the processing and the farming, not the plant itself, and they are facts you can check against the ingredient list and the certifier rather than take on trust.

Reading an ashwagandha label

• Part used. Root, leaf or both.
• Powder or extract. And if extract, the ratio.
• Withanolide percentage. If standardised.
• Milligrams per capsule or serving.
• Capsules or servings per pack and the daily rate. From these you get the days per pack and the cost per day.
• Other ingredients. Capsule shell material, fillers, and for gummies the sugars and setting agent.

Our label guide goes through each of these across every kind of supplement.

Ashwagandha at Herbastore

We list ashwagandha on the herbal supplements shelf, in capsule and gummy form. Each listing shows the amount per serving and the cost per serving where the brand gives us the figures.

Ashwagandha is a nightshade. If you take any medication, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have a medical condition, speak to a pharmacist or your GP before adding it. This guide describes the plant and the product; it is not advice.