Does ashwagandha help with cholesterol? What the research does and doesn't show

No large, placebo-controlled trial has isolated ashwagandha's effect on cholesterol. Two small studies are the closest the literature gets: an open-label study in healthy adults found cholesterol fell with no placebo group to compare against, and a small trial in people with diagnosed high cholesterol found an ashwagandha-only group's LDL improved over 3 months — alongside separate groups taking a different supplement and a statin.

What the evidence doesn't support

It doesn't support ashwagandha as a treatment for high cholesterol or a substitute for statin therapy or dietary management of a diagnosed lipid disorder. It doesn't support a specific expected drop in LDL or total cholesterol at any dose, because neither relevant study used a real placebo-controlled design against ashwagandha alone. And it doesn't support drawing a "which is better" conclusion from a trial that also included a statin arm — a trial using a drug as one of its comparison groups tells you the study included that comparison, not that ashwagandha matched or beat it.

What the trials found

A 2012 open-label study gave 18 healthy adults an 8:1 ashwagandha extract in escalating doses (750 mg/day, then 1,000 mg/day, then 1,250 mg/day) over 30 days, with no placebo group. Total and LDL cholesterol fell significantly by the end of the study. Because there was no placebo arm, the drop can't be cleanly separated from other explanations — time, diet changes during the study, or simply measuring the same people twice.

A small 2026 trial took a different approach: 60 adults with diagnosed high cholesterol were split into four groups of 15 and followed for 3 months. One group took atorvastatin (a statin) nightly; one took Withania somnifera (500 mg twice daily); one took a different plant, Syzygium cumini (Java plum); and one took a combination of both plants. Comparing each group only to its own starting values, the ashwagandha-only group showed a significant improvement in LDL and VLDL cholesterol. The combination group showed the largest improvements across the full lipid panel. The study doesn't specify in its abstract whether the ashwagandha used was whole root powder or a concentrated extract, so the form can't be confirmed, and the population was people already diagnosed with high cholesterol — not a general healthy population.

Neither study reflects the form (root powder, standardized-extract status unconfirmed either way) or general-population use that most people asking this question are thinking about, and neither is designed to answer whether a specific dose reliably lowers cholesterol compared with doing nothing.

Questions people ask

Does ashwagandha lower cholesterol?

Two small studies found cholesterol measures improved alongside ashwagandha use, but neither is the kind of large, placebo-controlled trial that would confirm ashwagandha itself caused the change. One had no placebo group at all; the other compared ashwagandha only to its own starting values, in people already diagnosed with high cholesterol.

Ashwagandha and cholesterol — is it safe to take with a statin?

No trial has specifically tested ashwagandha combined with a statin for safety; the 2026 trial above tested them as separate treatment groups, not together in the same person. Anyone taking a statin or another cholesterol medication should talk to a doctor before adding ashwagandha.

When to talk to a doctor

High cholesterol is a diagnosis that's monitored and managed medically — through diet, exercise, and often medication — and ashwagandha is not a treatment for it or a substitute for that management. If you have diagnosed high cholesterol, are on cholesterol-lowering medication, or are considering a supplement alongside your treatment plan, talk to a doctor first.

Related reading: ashwagandha dosage: what the trials actually used, ashwagandha benefits: what's established and what isn't, and who should not take ashwagandha.