NooGandha, a liposomal ashwagandha extract standardized to withanolides and key alkaloids marketed by Specnova, was linked to mood and cognitive health benefits in a suite of unpublished studies conducted by a team of researchers at Texas A&M University. Each study was completed earlier this year.
 
Mood
 
In one study, supplementation with 225 mg of NooGandha daily for 30 days was linked to significant improvements in perceptions of fatigue, anxiety, and sadness in a group of 59 men and women, which was not observed in a placebo group. Throughout treatment, participants took part in a Profile of Mood States (POMS) inventory in order to gauge changes in self-reported emotional state.

There were significant improvements in POMS domains which represented anxiety, sadness, ready-to-fight, and resentfulness. Chronic supplementation appeared to have a greater effect than a prior study conducted by the team of researchers, in which a single dose of 400 mg was assessed.
 
Cognitive Function
 
Two randomized, double-blind studies found that NooGandha was able to improve cognitive performance over time.
 
In the first study, 59 men and women were administered either NooGandha or a matching placebo daily for 30 days. At baseline and again at the end of the treatment period, the participants took part in a COMPASS cognitive function test battery, which measured word recognition, choice reaction time, picture recall, and digit vigilance. By day 30, those who were treated with ashwagandha has significant improvements over placebo in measures of word recognition and digit vigilance, suggesting potential improvements in markers of cognitive function, memory, and reaction time, according to the authors.
 
In a second study, 59 participants were given either a placebo or 225 mg of ashwagandha daily for 30 days. At baseline and at the end of the study duration, participants took part in a COMPASS cognitive test battery which included word recall, the Stroop task, and the Corsi Block Task test. While there were no significant differences between the placebo and treatment groups in Cosi Task Test variables, there were significant positive changes observed versus placebo in the word recall domain, and improvements were greater in the treatment group for the Stroop Task Test.
 
In the safety study, participants supplemented with either a placebo or NooGandha for 30 days, and were given whole blood assays for cell blood counts, while serum samples were assayed for standard clinical chemistry markers. There were no significant effects in either the cell blood counts or serum assays. Additionally, there were no differences between placebo and treatment groups when it came to reporting of side effects.
 
“NooGandha is a clinically studied, next generation ashwagandha with a unique compound composition that is proven to have novel cognitive benefits compared to any other ashwagandha extracts in the marketplace,” said Sebastian Balcombe, founder of Specnova. “What makes NooGandha revolutionary is not just the level of total ashwagandha withanolides – which is validated through the USP-HPLC method to be higher than competing ashwagandhas. NooGandha stands apart in overall unique compound composition including other classes of natural plant bioactive compounds outside of the withanolides class, such as key alkaloids. NooGandha uniquely leverages ashwagandha’s natural plant matrix components for optimal stability and absorption.”