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Can you take ashwagandha with blood pressure medicine?

Written by the Full Measure editorial team, which sells supplements. Approved for publication by the Full Measure owners. Updated .

Drafted with AI assistance from the sources listed below. How we write these

Quick answer

Ask your pharmacist or doctor before combining. Two NIH sources, its dietary supplement office and its complementary health center, list blood pressure medicines among the medicines ashwagandha might interact with. Neither says how large the effect is or which medicines are most affected, so ask before you start.1,2,3

Key facts

  • NIH's consumer fact sheet says ashwagandha might interact with diabetes and blood pressure medications.1
  • NIH's complementary health center says there is evidence that ashwagandha might interact with medicines for high blood pressure.3
  • The same sources also list diabetes medicines, sedatives, immunosuppressants, anti-seizure medicines and thyroid hormone medicines.2,3
  • NIH says ashwagandha appears well tolerated for up to about 3 months, and that its safety over longer use is not known.2

Ask your pharmacist or doctor first

NIH's complementary health center says there is evidence that ashwagandha might interact with medicines for high blood pressure, and NIH's dietary supplement office lists them too. Neither says how large the effect might be or which medicines are most affected.1,2,3

Reported in studies

What is documented

NIH's fact sheet for consumers says ashwagandha might interact with diabetes and blood pressure medications. Its fact sheet for health professionals lists antihypertensives, the medical name for blood pressure medicines, among the medicines ashwagandha might interact with.1,2

NIH's complementary health center goes a step further in wording: it says there is evidence that ashwagandha might interact with some medications, including those for high blood pressure. None of these sources describes a study of ashwagandha taken with a particular blood pressure medicine, how much any effect might change your readings, or which kinds of medicine are most affected.3

What the trials measured

In an 8-week safety trial of 80 healthy adults taking 300 mg twice a day, vital signs, including blood pressure, showed no significant change. That trial enrolled healthy volunteers, not people on blood pressure medicine, so it cannot tell you what happens when the two are combined.4

Most ashwagandha trials were small, short and run in India, and they were not designed to look for interactions with medicines.2

If you take more than one medicine

Many people who take a blood pressure medicine take others too. NIH's sources also name diabetes medicines, sedatives, anti-seizure medicines, medicines that suppress the immune system and thyroid hormone medicines as possible interactions with ashwagandha, so check every medicine on your list, not just the one for blood pressure.2,3

Ashwagandha has also been linked to rare liver injury, usually 2 to 12 weeks after starting. Call your doctor if you notice yellow skin or eyes or itching.5

What to ask your pharmacist or doctor

  • Could ashwagandha change how my blood pressure medicine works?
  • Should I check my blood pressure more often if I start it, and which readings should make me call you?
  • Are any of my other medicines on NIH's list?
  • Is ashwagandha already in another supplement I take?

Bring the Supplement Facts panel of everything you take. Ashwagandha can be listed under its other names, winter cherry or Indian ginseng.2

Questions people ask

Does ashwagandha lower blood pressure?

The NIH sources on this page do not say. They list blood pressure medicines among those ashwagandha might interact with, without describing the size or direction of any effect.2,3

Does this apply to every blood pressure medicine?

The sources speak of blood pressure medicines as a group and do not single out any kind. Ask your pharmacist about the medicine you take.1

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Sources

  1. Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health. Ashwagandha: Is it helpful for stress, anxiety, or sleep? Fact Sheet for Consumers. Updated December 4, 2023. Opened 2026-10-07.
  2. National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Ashwagandha: Is it helpful for stress, anxiety, or sleep? Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. Updated May 2, 2025. Opened 2026-10-07.
  3. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Ashwagandha. Last updated March 2023. Opened 2026-10-07.
  4. Verma N, Gupta SK, Tiwari S, Mishra AK. Safety of Ashwagandha Root Extract: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, study in Healthy Volunteers. Complement Ther Med. 2021;57:102642. Opened 2026-10-07.
  5. LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury. Ashwagandha. Bethesda (MD): National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Last update December 3, 2024. Opened 2026-10-07.

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