Shatavari and Ashwagandha Together: Trials

Quick answer

Two small trials gave shatavari and ashwagandha together to women around or after menopause: one used 300 mg of shatavari with 250 mg of ashwagandha extract for 8 weeks, the other 250 mg of each for 24 weeks. Both findings are early. Our Ashwagandha Complex has far less shatavari than either trial, at 50 mg.^1,2,3

Key facts

In an 8-week trial of 135 women aged 45 to 65, a capsule of 300 mg of shatavari with 250 mg of ashwagandha extract, taken once a day after breakfast, scored lower on a menopause rating scale than shatavari alone or placebo.¹
A 24-week trial in women after menopause tested each extract at 250 or 500 mg a day and a 500 mg arm that combined 250 mg of each; all supplemented groups scored lower than placebo on a menopause quality of life questionnaire.²
The first trial's extracts for both herbs came from one maker, and a similar shatavari trial was retracted by its journal on October 1, 2026.^1,4
Both herbs have a thyroid flag: ashwagandha may change thyroid hormone levels, which NIH links to thyroid medicines, and T3 rose in one shatavari trial. No official source we use names a medicine for shatavari.^3,5
NIH's complementary health center says ashwagandha should be avoided in pregnancy and not used while breastfeeding. The shatavari trials enrolled women around or after menopause.^3,6

Two Ayurvedic roots

Shatavari is the root of Asparagus racemosus, an Ayurvedic herb used in India, and it is a different plant from the asparagus sold as a vegetable. Ashwagandha is the root of Withania somnifera. Both have a long history in Ayurvedic practice, and some products and trials put them in one capsule. The history is one thing. What modern trials have measured for the pair is much thinner.^5,7

What each is graded for in menopause

May ease some self-rated discomforts around menopause*^2,8,9,10

Early evidence

Four small randomized trials in India gave women around or after menopause 250 to 600 mg a day of ashwagandha extract for 8 to 24 weeks, and each reported lower scores on menopause rating questionnaires than placebo. One, in 100 women, used 300 mg twice a day for 8 weeks; another, in 60 women aged 45 to 55, also counted fewer hot flashes. Two of the trials found higher estradiol and lower FSH and LH, a sign the extract can act on reproductive hormones.

Amount studied: 250 to 600 mg a day of root or root and leaf extract, for 8 to 24 weeks

May ease self-rated discomforts of the menopause transition, such as hot flashes*^1,3,4,11,12

Early evidence

Small randomized trials in India from 2024 to 2026, with 60 to 135 women each, gave 100 to 500 mg a day of one of several commercial root extracts for 8 weeks. They reported lower menopause rating scores than placebo, including fewer hot flashes. Most used an extract supplied or paid for by its maker, one was written by the maker's own staff, and a similar trial was retracted in October 2026, so the findings need independent confirmation.

Amount studied: 100 to 500 mg a day of standardized root extracts, for 8 weeks

Both findings are graded early, and both rest on small trials in India. The shatavari one carries an extra warning in its own file: most of the extracts were supplied by their makers, and a similar trial was retracted. Read both as findings that still need confirming by researchers with no stake in the extract.

The two trials that gave both

The first trial randomized 135 women aged 45 to 65 to three groups of 45. One group took a capsule of 300 mg of shatavari root extract, one took a combination capsule of 300 mg of shatavari and 250 mg of ashwagandha root extracts, and one took placebo. Everyone took one capsule a day after breakfast for 8 weeks. Menopause rating scale scores fell more in the combination group than in the shatavari-only group or the placebo group, at weeks 4 and 8, while quality of life scores were not clearly different. The authors reported that hormone levels stayed normal, and that four people had mild events, with loose stools and dizziness in the combination group.¹

The extract maker supplied both extracts, and the trial was a single study of one pairing. It does not show that the pair beats either herb at other amounts or from other makers.¹

The second trial randomized 127 postmenopausal women aged 40 to 55 to six groups for 24 weeks: placebo, shatavari at 250 or 500 mg, ashwagandha at 250 or 500 mg, or 500 mg of an extract combining 250 mg of each. Quality of life scores fell more in the supplemented groups than on placebo, and more at the higher amounts. The abstract reports each group against placebo. It does not say how the combination arm compared with the single herbs, so this page makes no claim about that.²

On October 1, 2026, a journal retracted a 2025 randomized trial of a shatavari extract in women around menopause.⁴

Amounts in the trials and on our label

Shatavari and ashwagandha: trial amounts and our label^{1,2,3,5,7,12,13}
Item	Shatavari	Ashwagandha
8-week combination trial	300 mg of root extract a day	250 mg of root extract a day
24-week combination arm	250 mg of extract a day	250 mg of extract a day
Most single-herb trials	100 to 600 mg of extract a day, or 1,000 mg of root powder	600 mg of root extract a day, as two doses
Ashwagandha Complex label	50 mg of root powder per serving	600 mg of a branded root extract per serving

What’s in ours

Ashwagandha Complex: Shatavari Powder, 50 mg per serving, from the label

What’s in ours

Ashwagandha Complex: KSM-66 Ashwagandha Extract, 600 mg per serving, from the label

The capsule's ratio is the reverse of the trials. The trials gave as much or more shatavari than ashwagandha, as extracts, while the label gives twelve times as much ashwagandha extract as shatavari powder. The 50 mg of powder is a small fraction of the 300 mg of extract used in the 8-week trial, so those findings do not describe the capsule.^1,2,13

Timing

The combination trial gave everything in one capsule after breakfast, and several single-herb shatavari trials did much the same: a 300 mg capsule once a day after breakfast, or in one trial of another extract, 100 mg with the evening meal. Ashwagandha trials usually split 600 mg into two doses taken after food. No trial compared times of day for either herb, or the pair taken together with the pair taken apart.^1,3,12,13

In menopause trials, rating scores had already fallen by week 4 and fell further by week 8.^1,12

Hormones, the thyroid and who should ask first

Both herbs may act on hormones. The shatavari root contains plant compounds, some of them phytoestrogens, which can bind the body's estrogen receptors. Two ashwagandha menopause trials reported higher estradiol and lower FSH and LH, and an 8-week shatavari trial reported higher estradiol, FSH and T3. In the combination trial the authors said hormone levels stayed normal. Because the trials disagree, ask first if you have a hormone-sensitive condition such as breast cancer, endometriosis or uterine fibroids.^1,3,7,8

Trials that measured hormones disagree. In one 8-week trial, estradiol, FSH and the thyroid hormone T3 rose on 300 mg a day of extract; in another, hormone levels stayed within the normal range.^1,3

Ask your pharmacist or doctor first

NIH says ashwagandha might interact with thyroid hormone medicines, such as levothyroxine. The concern comes from studies in which ashwagandha raised thyroid hormone levels, and from case reports of an overactive thyroid in people taking it.^5,6,14,15

Expected from how the two work, not shown in studies

The official sources we checked name no medicine for shatavari. That reflects how little it has been studied beside medicines, so ask a pharmacist about both herbs if you take thyroid hormone, hormone therapy, hormonal birth control or any other prescription medicine.⁵

Trials of up to 8 weeks reported no serious side effects, and liver and kidney blood tests did not change in the trials that checked them.^1,3

Rare cases of liver injury have been linked to ashwagandha, usually starting 2 to 12 weeks after people began taking it, with jaundice and itching. Most resolved within 1 to 4 months of stopping, but a few were fatal or needed a liver transplant, mainly in people who already had liver disease.^5,16

Do not use ashwagandha if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. The shatavari trials enrolled women around or after menopause, so its safety in pregnancy is unknown.^3,6
Ask first if you have a thyroid condition or take thyroid medicine.^3,5
Ask first if you have liver disease, an autoimmune condition, or take sedatives, anti-seizure medicines or blood pressure medicines.^5,16
Ask first if surgery is planned, or before giving either herb to anyone under 18.^5,6

Stop and see a doctor if you notice yellow skin or eyes, itching, nausea or unusual tiredness, which can be signs of liver injury linked to ashwagandha.¹⁶

Questions people ask

Can I take shatavari and ashwagandha together?

Two small trials did give the pair, to women around or after menopause, and reported mild events. Both findings are early, and nothing in the official sources we use documents a medicine interaction for shatavari. Read the safety section first, especially on hormones and the thyroid.^1,2

What is the best time to take shatavari and ashwagandha?

Nobody has tested it. The combination trial used one capsule a day after breakfast, and ashwagandha trials usually split 600 mg into two doses after food.^1,13

Is Ashwagandha Complex the combination the trials tested?

No. It lists 600 mg of ashwagandha extract and 50 mg of shatavari root powder, while the trials used 250 to 300 mg of each as extracts. Its shatavari is a small fraction of the amount studied.^1,2,13

Do the trials show the pair works better than either herb?

Only one 8-week trial compared them, and its extracts came from one maker. A similar shatavari trial has been retracted, so the result needs confirmation from independent researchers.^1,4

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Sources

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

This page is information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.