Ashwagandha Does Not Enhance the Effect of High-Intensity Interval Training on Selected Energy Metabolism Parameters in Young Healthy Men.

Plain-language summary

This study set out to see whether ashwagandha, a herb widely sold for stress and performance, adds anything to interval training. Interval training here meant repeated hard efforts on a rowing machine with easy recovery between them, done for eight weeks. Thirty-eight healthy young men trained, half taking 600 mg of ashwagandha daily and half a placebo, in a double-blind trial. The training itself shifted two hormones that regulate how the body uses fuel, lowering resting adiponectin, which is released by fat tissue, and raising irisin, which is released by working muscle. Ashwagandha added nothing on top: no extra change in body fat, cholesterol or either hormone.

Key findings

• 8 weeks of interval training lowered resting adiponectin levels
• Interval training raised irisin levels right after exercise and 24 hours later
• Ashwagandha did not affect body composition, cholesterol, or hormone levels