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Human study: Ashwagandha boosts testosterone level
If infertile men take three capsules containing Ashwagandha – Latin name Withania somnifera – every day for a couple of months, their testosterone level rises by 17 percent and their sperm cell concentration increases by 167 percent. Doctors at Mahalaxmi Clinic in Mumbai, India write about it in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Ashwagandha
The reports from India will not be a complete surprise to faithful readers of this modest web magazine. They already knew that 5 g Ashwaganda a day boosts testosterone levels by forty percent in human studies, and that animal studies have shown that Ashwaganda even may have an anabolic effect. [J Ethnopharmacol. 1994 Dec;44(3):131-5.]
The most important active ingredients in Ashwagandha are withanolides, a few of which are shown above.
Study
The extract that the researchers used was KSM-66 Ashwagandha, produced by the Indian company Ixoreal Biomed. KSM-66 Ashwagandha consists of 5 percent withanolide.
The 25 men in the experimental group took 3 capsules a day for a period of 90 days. Each capsule contained 225 mg extract. A control group of 21 men took a placebo.
Results
During the 90 days the amount of sperm cells per ml increased by 167 percent in the experimental group. The amount of sperm increased by half, and the sperm motility increased by 60 percent.
The testosterone level of experiment group increased by 17 percent and the LH level by 34 percent in the same period.
The sperm quality and hormone levels also improved in the control group, but not as much as in the experimental group.
Conclusion
"Ashwagandha amplifies the body's ability to self-regulate its key systems, thereby achieving its effects in a more natural and safe way", says Kartikeya Baldwa, the director of Ixoreal Biomed in an interview with NutraIngredients-USA.com. [nutraingredients-usa.com 23-May-2014]
"The effect of ashwagandha on testosterone production is similarly integrative and organic. We should not expect KSM-66 to produce substantial testosterone increases in males with already very high testosterone levels or in females, because such increases would be counter to the natural state of balance in such individuals."
"Indeed, pilot data for another clinical study in progress indicate that KSM-66's effect on testosterone in females is not substantial."
Source:
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:571420.
More:
Withaferin-A, an anti-estrogen (and maybe also an anabolic) in ashwagandha 20.08.2020
Ashwagandha accelerates increase of muscle strength in novice strength athletes 25.12.2018
Daily 600 mg ashwagandha helps resistance trainers build more muscle and lose more fat 11.01.2016
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