Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)
Of 2,228 on-market ashwagandha (withania somnifera) products in the January 2026 DSLD dump, the median declared dose is 250 mg, and 49.6% list Root powder (whole, unstandardized) as the primary form.
Form share
Of 2,159 products with an identifiable primary form, here is the share held by each form of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) on the market today.
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| Form | Quality tier | n | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root powder (whole, unstandardized) | Tier 3 | 1,071 | 49.6% |
| Root extract (unstandardized or low-ratio) | Tier 2 | 1,018 | 47.2% |
| Standardized root extract, >=5% withanolides (KSM-66-type) | Tier 1 | 70 | 3.2% |
Forms we recognize but found no primary-form products for in this release: Standardized extract, >=10% withanolide glycosides (Sensoril-type, root+leaf).
Form share over time
Entry-year breakdown of the top forms, 2012–2025.
Dose distribution
Deciles of declared dose per serving (mg), among 1,193 products with a disclosed amount.
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- 1.9% of products fall below the fairy-dust threshold (24 mg, 20% of the studied low dose).
- 44.4% of products don't disclose an amount because Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is declared inside a proprietary blend.
Where does your dose rank?
Enter a per-serving dose (mg) to see exactly how it compares to the 1,193 on-market ashwagandha (withania somnifera) products with a disclosed amount. The chart above groups doses into deciles; this looks up the exact percentile for one number.
By dosage form
By target group
Top brands
Search interest over time
How often people search for ashwagandha (withania somnifera) on Google, US only, the last 5 years. This is public interest, not DSLD label data — a spike here doesn't necessarily line up with anything on this page, and Google's own index (100 = that term's peak popularity in the chosen window) is relative, not an absolute search-volume count.
Or see this search directly on trends.google.com.
Forms explained
Typical standardization: None declared
No declared/guaranteed withanolide content; highly variable actives depending on plant source, harvest and processing -- least-evidenced form for reproducible dosing.
Source: NIH ODS Ashwagandha fact sheet (general characterization); few RCTs of raw root powder (one used 6 g/day root powder as granules, per NIH ODS)
Typical standardization: Not guaranteed
Concentrated relative to raw powder but without a guaranteed withanolide %, so potency is less reproducible than standardized extracts used in RCTs.
Source: NIH ODS Ashwagandha fact sheet (studies used various preparations, making specific extracts difficult to identify); no study directly comparing unstandardized extracts located
Typical standardization: >=5% withanolides, root-only, aqueous extraction
This is the material used in the Chandrasekhar 2012 RCT (n=64) and several other small RCTs -- among the most extensively studied commercial ashwagandha forms, though NIH ODS describes ashwagandha trials overall as fairly small.
Source: Chandrasekhar K et al. 2012, Indian J Psychol Med 34(3):255-262, PMID 23439798
Typical standardization: >=10% withanolide glycosides, root+leaf, ~32% oligosaccharides
Higher declared withanolide content than KSM-66 with supporting RCTs, but a comparatively smaller/less consistent RCT base than the KSM-66-type material; root+leaf material carries a different (higher withaferin-A) phytochemical profile.
Source: Ziegenfuss TN et al. 2018, Nutrients 10(11):1807, PMID 30463324 (Sensoril 500 mg/day, strength-training trial, n=38 men; not a stress trial); NIH ODS Ashwagandha fact sheet notes Sensoril/Shoden trials
Reference values
- RDA (adult): not established — Not established -- confirmed via NIH ODS Ashwagandha fact sheet; not an essential nutrient.
- Tolerable Upper Intake Level (adult): not established — Not established. NIH ODS notes clinical trial doses ranged 240-1250mg/day extract (or up to 12,000mg/day whole-root granules) without establishing a UL. Case reports describe liver injury at roughly 450-1,350mg/day taken for 1 week to 4 months (NIH ODS); product contents were not always verified -- a safety signal from isolated case reports, not a quantified upper limit.
- Studied clinical dose range: 120–1250 mg
- Chandrasekhar K et al. 2012, Indian J Psychol Med 34(3):255-262, PMID 23439798 -- RCT (n=64), 600mg/day (300mg BID) standardized root extract (>=5% withanolides) x60 days; significantly reduced Perceived Stress Scale scores (P<0.0001) and serum cortisol (fell 27.9% from baseline vs 7.9% with placebo; P=0.0006 per the abstract). Corroborated by Akhgarjand C et al. 2022, Phytother Res 36(11):4115-24, PMID 36017529, meta-analysis, 12 RCTs/1,002 participants; significant anxiety/stress reduction, with a dose-response analysis suggesting stress benefit at 300-600mg/day; certainty of evidence low. The 120-1250mg range is supported by the NIH ODS fact sheet (240-1,250mg/day extract) and by Cheah KL et al. 2021, PLoS One 16:e0257843 (sleep meta-analysis that included a 120mg/day root+leaf extract), not by the two papers above.
- Note: Standardization: most common label claim is >=5% withanolides (KSM-66-type, root-only) or >=10% withanolide glycosides (Sensoril-type, root+leaf). The 5% figure has a direct evidentiary tie to trial material (Chandrasekhar 2012); the 10% figure's independent RCT depth is thinner.