Ashwagandha root extract and stress in team sports athletes
What it found
In 56 team sports athletes, taking 600 mg a day of ashwagandha root extract for 42 days kept post-training stress hormones stable, while the placebo group's levels rose.
Recovery felt better in the women and jumping improved in the men.
What they found
Studies in people
Stress hormones in women
In the women, salivary cortisol rose significantly in the placebo group over the 42 days but stayed stable in the ashwagandha group.
Stress hormones in men
In the men, salivary cortisone rose significantly in the placebo group but stayed stable in the ashwagandha group.
Perceived recovery in women
The women taking ashwagandha reported better overall recovery, less muscle soreness and less fatigue after training compared with the placebo group.
Muscle strength in men
The men taking ashwagandha improved their countermovement jump height, while the placebo group did not. Pull-up performance improved in both groups.
Other hormones and fitness
There were no significant changes in testosterone, DHEA-S or the testosterone-to-cortisol ratio, and no changes in aerobic fitness for either sex.
Side effects and satisfaction
One person in the ashwagandha group had a mild headache and one in the placebo group had minor stomach discomfort. The ashwagandha group reported being more satisfied with their supplement than the placebo group.
What the authors conclude
“Supplementation with 600 mg/day of Ashwagandha root extract for 42 days may stabilise stress biomarkers, improve perception of recovery and enhance muscle strength in team sports athletes during pre-season training.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that 600 mg a day of ashwagandha root extract for 42 days may stabilise stress biomarkers, improve perception of recovery and enhance muscle strength in team sports athletes during pre-season training.
- They note that the benefits were sex-specific, with recovery improvements in female athletes and lower-body strength gains in male athletes.
- They call for more research to refine dosing, duration and timing, and to compare ashwagandha with other supplements.
How it was done
Pre-season training can raise cortisol and build up stress, which may hurt recovery and performance. The authors wanted to see whether ashwagandha could help athletes handle this training stress.
They randomly split 56 semi-professional rugby, water polo and football players into two equal groups, one taking 600 mg a day of ashwagandha root extract and the other a placebo, for 42 days. They measured stress hormones in saliva after training, asked about recovery the next day, and tested muscle strength and aerobic fitness.
What it can’t tell you
- The study was relatively small and used convenience sampling, so the results may not apply to all athletes.
- Dietary intake was not recorded, which could have influenced recovery and performance.
- The athletes trained in hot, humid conditions, which may have affected the results.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- E.O., M.S., M.A.-S., T.J.S. and B.R.-V. declare no conflict of interest. O.C.C. and A.L. have engaged in consulting and speaking activities for various companies in the dietary supplements industry, for which they have received honoraria. These companies include some that distribute the supplement investigated in this study and others that do not. These professional activities were entirely independent of the present research and did not influence its design, conduct, analysis or reporting. The authors have no direct financial or business interests related specifically to the product investigated in this study.
- Authors work at
- Ramon Llull University, Spain; Fulham FC Academy, UK; Leiden University, The Netherlands
The paper
- Title
- Ashwagandha Root Extract Stabilises Physiological Stress Responses in Male and Female Team Sports Athletes During Pre-Season Training
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Coope OC, Otaegui E, Suárez M, et al (2026). Ashwagandha Root Extract Stabilises Physiological Stress Responses in Male and Female Team Sports Athletes During Pre-Season Training. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu18020230Free full textPubMed 41599843DOI
Summary written 29 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error