Skip to content

Coming soon. The store is not open yet.

Menu
Full Measure

Ingredient guide

Shatavari side effects: what trials report

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

In trials of up to 8 weeks, mostly at 100 to 1,000 mg a day, side effects were few and mild, mostly nausea or stomach upset, at rates similar to placebo. Safety in pregnancy, while breastfeeding and over longer periods has not been rigorously studied, and its plant estrogens mean some people should ask first.1,2,3

Key facts

  • Liver and kidney blood tests did not change in the trials that checked them.1,4
  • Small trials in new mothers found no adverse effects in mothers or babies.3,5
  • In one 8-week trial, the thyroid hormone T3 rose on shatavari.4
  • No safe upper amount has been set.3

Side effects reported in trials

Mild stomach effects such as nausea were the side effects most often reported in trials, at rates similar to placebo.1,2

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.1,4

In the three-arm menopause trial, four women reported mild effects: nausea on shatavari, loose stools and dizziness on shatavari with ashwagandha, and headache on placebo. In a trial run by an extract maker's staff, stomach discomfort was the most common complaint and was about as common on placebo.1,2

Hormones, periods and hormone-sensitive conditions

The root contains steroidal saponins called shatavarins and other plant compounds. Some of them are phytoestrogens, plant compounds that can bind the body's estrogen receptors.3,6

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.1,4

Because its effect on hormones is unsettled, ask a doctor first if you have endometriosis, uterine fibroids, breast cancer or another hormone-sensitive condition. If you take thyroid medicine, tell your doctor, since T3 rose in one trial. If your periods change while you take shatavari, stop and talk to your doctor.4,6

While breastfeeding, and effects on the baby

LactMed says the safety of shatavari while breastfeeding has not been rigorously studied, although small trials found no adverse effects in mothers or their babies.3

The trials in new mothers were small and lasted from 3 to 30 days, so they could not detect rare problems in babies. Talk to your doctor or a lactation consultant before using shatavari while breastfeeding, and check the label of any product for other herbs.7,8,9

Pregnancy, and side effects for men

We found no trial of shatavari in pregnant women, so its safety in pregnancy is unknown. Ask your doctor before taking it if you are pregnant or trying to conceive.

Few men have taken part in shatavari trials, 18 in a strength trial and 8 in a stomach emptying study, so there is too little data to describe side effects specific to men.10,11

Medicines

None of the official sources we checked names an interaction between shatavari and any medicine. LiverTox has no chapter on it, and the MedlinePlus pages for levothyroxine, escitalopram and a common birth control pill do not mention it.12,13,14

That is a gap in the evidence, not proof that a combination is harmless. Because shatavari contains plant estrogens and raised T3 in one trial, ask your pharmacist before combining it with thyroid medicine, hormonal birth control or hormone therapy.4,6

No safe upper amount has been set for shatavari, and LactMed notes that its safety has not been rigorously studied. Trials have used 100 to 600 mg a day of extract or 1,000 mg a day of root powder, mostly for 8 weeks or less. One older trial in nursing mothers gave 60 mg of root powder per kg a day for 30 days.3,6,7,8

Questions people ask

Is shatavari safe for women?

In trials of up to 8 weeks, women reported few and mild side effects. Ask a doctor first if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or have a hormone-sensitive condition such as endometriosis.1

Can shatavari affect my period?

We found no trial that reported period changes as a side effect. Because shatavari may affect hormones, talk to your doctor if your cycle changes while you take it.4

Can shatavari harm my baby if I am breastfeeding?

Small trials found no harm to babies, but its safety while breastfeeding has not been rigorously studied. Talk to your doctor or a lactation consultant first.3

See what we make

Every product shows its whole label and what its lab report covers. The store opens soon.

See the Full Measure lineAshwagandha Complex

Sources

  1. Ademola J, et al. Efficacy and safety of Shatavari root extract (Asparagus racemosus) for menopausal symptoms: a randomized, double-blind, three-arm, placebo-controlled study. Front Reprod Health. 2025;7:1654503. Opened 2026-10-07.
  2. Swaroop A, Swaroop A. Asparagus racemosus Root Extract (SheVari4®) Alleviates Menopausal Symptoms in Pre-, Peri-, and Post-menopausal Healthy Women. Cureus. 2026;18(4):e106987. Opened 2026-10-07.
  3. Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed). Wild Asparagus. Bethesda (MD): National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; 2006 onward. Updated July 15, 2026. Opened 2026-10-07.
  4. Mahajan S, et al. Efficacy and Safety of Shatavari (Asparagus racemosus) Root Extract for Perimenopause: Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study. Int J Womens Health. 2025;17:4057-4073. Opened 2026-10-07.
  5. Birla A, et al. Postpartum Use of Shavari Bar® Improves Breast Milk Output: A Double-Blind, Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Clinical Study. Cureus. 2022;14(7):e26831. Opened 2026-10-07.
  6. O'Leary MF, et al. Shatavari Supplementation in Postmenopausal Women Improves Handgrip Strength and Increases Vastus lateralis Myosin Regulatory Light Chain Phosphorylation but Does Not Alter Markers of Bone Turnover. Nutrients. 2021;13(12):4282. Opened 2026-10-07.
  7. Ajgaonkar A, et al. Shatavari (Asparagus racemosus Willd) root extract for postpartum lactation: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. J Obstet Gynaecol. 2025;45(1):2564168. Opened 2026-10-07.
  8. Gupta M, Shaw B. A Double-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial for Evaluation of Galactogogue Activity of Asparagus racemosus Willd. Iran J Pharm Res. 2011;10(1):167-72. Opened 2026-10-07.
  9. Foong SC, et al. Oral galactagogues (natural therapies or drugs) for increasing breast milk production in mothers of non-hospitalised term infants. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020;5(5):CD011505. Opened 2026-10-07.
  10. Anders JPV, et al. The Effects of Asparagus Racemosus Supplementation Plus 8 Weeks of Resistance Training on Muscular Strength and Endurance. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol. 2020;5(1):4. Opened 2026-10-07.
  11. Dalvi SS, et al. Effect of Asparagus racemosus (Shatavari) on gastric emptying time in normal healthy volunteers. J Postgrad Med. 1990;36(2):91-4. Opened 2026-10-07.
  12. MedlinePlus. Levothyroxine. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine. Last revised February 15, 2019. Opened 2026-10-07.
  13. MedlinePlus. Escitalopram. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine. Last revised October 15, 2025. Opened 2026-10-07.
  14. MedlinePlus. Ethinyl Estradiol and Norethindrone (Oral Contraceptives). Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine. Last revised May 15, 2025. Opened 2026-10-07.

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