An ashwagandha extract marketed as Shoden by Arjuna Natural was associated with improvements in subjects’ self-reported stress and morning cortisol levels, in a clinical study published in Heliyon.
 
The randomized, placebo-controlled study involved 60 healthy adults who reported higher-than-normal levels of stress and anxiety at baseline. The study was conducted by Deo Nidhi Mishra at Nirmal Hospital in Jhansi, India.
 
Subjects were randomized to take either a placebo, or a low (60 mg) or high (120 mg) dose of Shoden per day. Shoden’s relatively low dose, compared to other ashwagandha extracts, is attributable to the fact that it is standardized to 35% withanolide glycosides, according to Arjuna Natural.
 
After the 60-day treatment period, volunteers in the Shoden groups showed significantly reduced levels of stress and anxiety, as measured by a 59% greater reduction in scores on the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale compared to placebo. Morning measurements of blood cortisol levels were lowered by 66% and 67% in those taking low and high doses of Shoden, respectively, while cortisol levels only changed by 2.2% in the placebo group. Men who took Shoden also saw significant increases in testosterone levels.
 
Subjects also reported reductions in stress levels via the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) assessment. Additionally, subjects in the treatment group had significantly greater improvements in the Clinical Global Impressions assessment, which is a measurement of how a clinician views the subject’s overall functioning before and after the intervention, and the Patient’s Global Impression of Change scales.
 
“This study represents a significant advancement in our understanding of the profound effects that low-dose Shoden Ashwagandha can have in managing stress and anxiety,” said Benny Antony, PhD, joint managing director at Arjuna Natural. “That these benefits were achieved at such a low dose underscores the exceptional work done by our research team in offering an optimal solution for formulators seeking science-backed stress-relief products … Prolonged exposure to high levels of cortisol is known to exert detrimental effects on mental and physical well-being. It leads to increased feelings of anxiety which, over long periods of time, will decrease the quality of life. Withanolides can increase the activity of certain neurotransmitters, or ‘happy hormones,’ such as serotonin, acetylcholine, and GABA, all of which can help regulate the HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis, keeping cortisol in check and reducing stress.”