Rooted in Safety: Avoiding Toxicity in Ashwagandha Products by Dr Shankar Katekhaye, Director of Quality & Research at Nature's Laboratory

photo: Ashwagandha cut root

Ashwagandha Roots & Leaves

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is an adaptogenic herb widely used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine for stress relief, improved energy, and overall wellness. It's generally considered safe for most people when taken at recommended doses, but there have been rare reports of liver toxicity linked to its use.

Liver toxicity is linked to withanone within the extract. Withanone is predominantly found in the leaves, along with Withaferin A. Thus,  leaf extracts may carry a higher risk of toxicity, especially liver-related, if not properly standardized or overused.  Roots are richer in Withanolide A and other withanolides commonly used in supplements. However, toxicity from the root has not been reported. One such study performed by Kalaivani et al., was a ninety-day repeated dose toxicity of Ashwagandha root extract in Wistar rats. Their findings on acute and sub-acute oral toxicity study with hydroalcoholic extract of Ashwagandha roots, showed no evidence of toxic effect or mortality in Wistar rats. For further reading follow the provided reference link (doi: 10.1016/j.toxrep.2023.09.004).

Herbal Apothecary takes part in Ashwagandha Research

Herbal Apothecary (part of Nature’s Laboratory Ltd), being a member of the British Herbal Medicine Association (BHMA), participated in a study conducted at the University of Westminster by Dr. Tony Booker. The study focused on checking the quality of Ashwagandha root and whether the root herb supplied in the UK, including products made by UK-based herbal manufacturers (with HerbMark Certification), has any contamination by Ashwagandha leaves. Dr Christopher J. Etheridge (Chair BHMA) played a crucial role in bringing BHMA members and the researchers together, to carry forward this research study.

Food supplement products placed in the market along with samples from the BHMA member manufacturers were included in the study. The study was performed using classical chromatographic techniques like HPTLC (High-performance thin layer chromatography) to check the presence of chlorophyll (reflecting contamination from leaves) and other biomarkers associated with Ashwagandha. A detailed protocol and study method will be published by Dr. Tony’s group in the future.

The HPTLC chromatogram suggests that the concentration and composition of Ashwagandha food supplement products are highly variable. The figure below shows various samples tested including one from Herbal Apothecary.

Figure: HPTLC Chromatograph of tested samples.

Conclusions of the Research

Researchers have concluded that, the tablets, capsules and the liquid from the market had very little withanolide A and only small amounts of other compounds. However, the root samples sent by other UK-based manufacturers, including Herbal Apothecary, (WS35 in the figure) were of good quality without any contamination from leaves.

Our Research Director, Dr. Shankar Katekhaye states that, “This study supports the widely cited fact that, supplements from trusted manufacturers and specially standardised products should be consumed. Many products sold in the market and online, may not be manufactured using best practises."