How much ashwagandha per day for females?

Reviewed and updated: 3 September 2026

Most healthy adult women take 300 mg to 600 mg of ashwagandha per day as a standardised root extract, and the single most common regimen in the research, including the one trial run entirely in women, is 300 mg twice daily, so 600 mg in total. Ashwagandha is a small evergreen shrub whose root has been used in Ayurveda for well over two thousand years, traditionally reached for during demanding, tiring periods to help the body feel calm and steady. Ayurvedic tradition classes it as a rasayana, a restorative taken to support everyday resilience and vitality, and that heritage is a big part of why so many women reach for it today. Below I explain where the 300 to 600 mg figure comes from, how the number shifts depending on what you are taking it for, why the form matters more than the milligrams, what is and is not established specifically in women, and the liver caution most articles leave out. You can browse the full range on our Pure Vitamins UK home page or in our supplement guides hub.

How much ashwagandha per day for females?

The short answer to how much ashwagandha per day for females is 300 mg to 600 mg of a standardised root extract, most commonly a full-spectrum, root-only extract such as KSM-66 standardised to a minimum of 5% withanolides. Women were part of most of the randomised trials that established this range, and there is no separate, officially set "female dose" that differs from the general adult dose. What matters far more than being male or female is body size, individual sensitivity, the specific extract, and how consistently you take it. The wider research range actually runs from around 240 mg up to about 1,250 mg of extract per day, but the 300 to 600 mg band is where most quality UK products, and most of the good evidence, sit.

A quick honest note on how I write about it: ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is a botanical, so this article describes what tradition and research show rather than promising you an outcome. If you want the compositional background first, my explainer on what KSM-66 ashwagandha is is a good companion piece, and it doubles as the pillar guide for this whole ashwagandha cluster.

TL;DR: the quick answer

• What it is: a standardised root extract of the ashwagandha plant, usually described by its withanolide percentage.
• Typical daily amount: 300 mg to 600 mg of standardised extract per day for healthy adults, women included; the broader studied range is roughly 240 mg to 1,250 mg.
• The women-only trial used: 300 mg twice daily, so 600 mg per day, for eight weeks.
• Common starting point: 300 mg once daily for two weeks, then 600 mg (or 300 mg twice daily) if you want to sit where most of the evidence sits.
• Who it is for: generally healthy adults over 18 who are not pregnant or breastfeeding and are not on the medications listed below.
• Key thing to know: milligrams mean nothing without a withanolide percentage; 600 mg of a 5% extract is not the same as 600 mg of an unstandardised powder.
• How long: most studies ran for 8 to 12 weeks; many people take it for up to around three months and then reassess.
• The honest caution: rare cases of liver injury have been reported with ashwagandha-containing supplements, which is covered in full below rather than buried.

Ashwagandha dosage by goal: what women actually take it for

This is the question underneath the question. "How much" changes depending on why you are taking it, so here is the studied daily amount broken down by the reason women most often reach for ashwagandha. Every figure below is the amount used in trials, expressed as standardised root extract, and every one assumes you know the withanolide percentage behind it.

For calm and everyday stress support: 300 to 600 mg per day

This is the best-evidenced use and the one the headline range is built on. Trials typically used 300 mg of a full-spectrum root extract twice daily, so 600 mg per day, over 60 days. Some used a single 240 mg dose of a concentrated extract. If this is your reason, starting at 300 mg once daily and building to 600 mg is the sensible route, and consistency over six to eight weeks matters far more than the exact figure.

For sleep quality and a settled evening: 300 to 600 mg, taken in the evening

The sleep trials used broadly the same amounts, but the timing shifts: the daily dose is usually taken in the evening, often 300 mg after your evening meal, or the full 600 mg as one evening dose. Trials in this area ran for eight to ten weeks. If ashwagandha makes you feel noticeably relaxed, this is the segment where a single evening dose tends to suit better than splitting it.

For exercise, strength and recovery: 600 mg per day, split 300 mg twice

The exercise trials cluster tightly at 600 mg per day, given as 300 mg twice daily alongside a structured resistance-training programme, usually for eight weeks. This is the one segment where the higher end of the range is the standard rather than the ceiling, and it is also the segment with the most female-specific data, because the newer trials analysed men and women separately.

For general daily wellbeing: 250 to 300 mg per day

If you are not chasing anything in particular and simply want to take ashwagandha the way it has traditionally been taken, the lower end of the range is perfectly reasonable. Many women take 300 mg once daily as a steady, long-running habit rather than pushing to 600 mg. There is no evidence that a healthy woman with no specific goal needs the upper end.

One caveat that applies across all four: these are the amounts researchers used, not amounts guaranteed to do anything for you personally. And in every case the number is only meaningful once you know what extract sits behind it, which is the next section.

Why the dose is quoted as extract, not raw powder

The single most confusing thing about ashwagandha dosing is that a number on a label can mean very different things. A "600 mg" capsule of plain milled root powder is not comparable to "600 mg" of a concentrated root extract, because the extract is many times more concentrated in the plant's characteristic active compounds, the withanolides. Milled whole root is the traditional, food-like form; a modern standardised extract concentrates the same root down to a consistent, measurable potency.

This is why quality products state a standardisation percentage, for example "standardised to a minimum 5% withanolides." That percentage tells you how much of the extract is made up of the marker compounds, so two products can be compared on a like-for-like basis. A full-spectrum, root-only extract such as KSM-66 is standardised in exactly this way and is drawn from the root rather than the leaf. If the phrase is unfamiliar, I break down what "standardised to 5% withanolides" and root-only versus full-spectrum mean in the KSM-66 pillar guide.

Practical takeaway for women choosing a dose: read the label for the extract amount and the withanolide percentage, not just the headline milligrams. Two products can both say "600 mg" and deliver very different quantities of withanolides.

Turning a withanolide percentage into a sensible dose

Here is the part most guides skip, and it is exactly where the confusion lives. The withanolide percentage is the bridge between the milligrams on the label and the amount of active compound you actually take. The arithmetic is one multiplication: extract amount multiplied by the withanolide percentage gives you the withanolides per day.

Worked out across the strengths you will actually meet on a UK shelf:

• 300 mg of a 5% extract gives about 15 mg of withanolides a day. This is the sensible starting point and where many women stay.
• 600 mg of a 5% extract gives about 30 mg a day. This is the figure the women-only perimenopause trial and the exercise trials rest on, and it is the practical target for anyone who wants to sit where the evidence sits.
• 600 mg of a 2.5% extract gives only about 15 mg a day, so a cheaper 2.5% product at the same headline number is delivering half the withanolides. This is the single most common way people accidentally under-dose.
• 250 mg of a 10% leaf-inclusive extract gives about 25 mg a day, which is why higher-percentage extracts are dosed lower rather than being weaker.
• An unstandardised "1,000 mg ashwagandha root powder" capsule gives you an unknown amount, because milled root typically carries only a fraction of a percent of withanolides and the label does not tell you which fraction.

Two more label details worth learning, because they are where thin retailer pages tend to go quiet. The first is the extract ratio, often written as something like 12:1, meaning twelve parts raw root were concentrated into one part extract. A ratio tells you about concentration but not about potency, so a stated ratio is never a substitute for a stated withanolide percentage. The second is where the percentage is measured: reputable extracts state withanolides by a defined analytical method, and "minimum 5%" is a guaranteed floor rather than a typical value. If a UK label gives you a milligram figure with no percentage, no ratio and no named extract, you genuinely cannot work out what you are taking, and that is reason enough to choose something else.

This is why I would rather see a woman take a modest, well-standardised dose than a big number on a cheap, unstandardised label. It also explains the different dosing you see across extract types:

• KSM-66: a full-spectrum, root-only extract standardised to a minimum 5% withanolides, typically dosed at 300 mg to 600 mg per day. It is the most widely studied branded extract and the one this article's dose range is largely built on.
• Sensoril: a root-and-leaf extract standardised to a higher withanolide content (often around 10%), so it is usually dosed lower, commonly 125 mg to 250 mg per day, because each milligram carries more withanolides.
• Generic or unbranded root extract: quality and standardisation vary widely, so the milligrams alone tell you very little. If the percentage is not stated, you cannot judge the effective dose.

The takeaway is not that one type is universally better, but that the right number of milligrams depends entirely on the extract behind it. A root-only, full-spectrum extract like KSM-66 aims to keep the natural balance of the root's compounds, which is why it is dosed in that 300 to 600 mg window rather than the lower Sensoril range.

What the research actually used, and in whom

It is worth keeping science and product wording separate. The studies below describe what researchers observed; they are not a promise about what a supplement will do for you.

Several randomised, placebo-controlled trials in adults have used 300 mg of a full-spectrum root extract twice daily, which is 600 mg per day. In one 60-day trial of 64 adults of both sexes reporting chronic stress, that regimen was associated with lower serum cortisol and lower stress-scale scores compared with placebo, with side effects described as mild and comparable to placebo (Chandrasekhar et al., 2012, Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, https://doi.org/10.4103/0253-7176.106022). An eight-week trial in 60 healthy but stressed men and women using 250 mg or 300 mg twice daily reported reductions in perceived stress and cortisol alongside improved sleep-quality scores (Salve et al., 2019, Cureus, https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.6466).

Lower daily amounts have also been studied. A 60-day trial in 60 healthy adults of both sexes with high self-reported stress used a concentrated extract at 240 mg per day and reported reductions in anxiety-scale scores and morning cortisol, with no adverse events recorded (Lopresti et al., 2019, Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000017186). Sleep has been looked at directly too: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 80 people (healthy volunteers and people with insomnia) taking root extract for eight weeks reported improvements in measured sleep parameters such as sleep onset latency and sleep efficiency, more marked in the insomnia group (Langade et al., 2020, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2020.113276).

The exercise data is where women were finally analysed separately. An eight-week randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 80 healthy adults aged 18 to 45, men and women, used 300 mg of a standardised root extract (over 5% withanolides) twice daily alongside resistance training, and reported greater improvements in strength measures and endurance in both the male and the female participants compared with placebo, with no adverse events recorded (Verma et al., 2024, F1000Research, https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.130932.2). That is useful for our purposes not because of the outcome but because of the dose: 600 mg per day is the figure the sex-stratified data actually rests on.

There is also one trial conducted entirely in women. An eight-week randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 100 perimenopausal women used 300 mg of ashwagandha root extract twice daily and reported reductions in menopause rating scale and quality-of-life scores relative to placebo, alongside changes in measured hormone levels (Gopal et al., 2021, Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research, https://doi.org/10.1111/jog.15030). I include it here strictly as dosing evidence, because it is the clearest women-only answer to "how much": 600 mg per day, split. It is a single trial and should not be read as a promise about what any supplement will do for you.

Pulling the stress trials together, a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of 12 randomised trials (just over 1,000 participants of both sexes) reported that supplementation was associated with reduced anxiety and stress measures, with the effect on stress most apparent around the 300 mg to 600 mg per day range. The authors rated the overall certainty of the evidence as low, which is an honest limitation worth stating (Akhgarjand et al., 2022, Phytotherapy Research, https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.7598).

Two honest caveats. First, apart from the perimenopause trial, these studies were run in mixed cohorts rather than exclusively in women, so we should be careful about over-interpreting a "female-specific" result. Second, most cohorts were described as stressed but otherwise healthy adults rather than people with a diagnosed condition, and the evidence base, while growing, is still modest in size and certainty.

What the NIH evidence review concludes

Because I would rather you heard the sceptical view from me than found it elsewhere and wondered why I left it out: the US National Institutes of Health, through its Office of Dietary Supplements fact sheet on ashwagandha, takes a distinctly more cautious line than most supplement marketing does. It is the most useful independent summary available, and its conclusions are broadly these.

• On stress and anxiety, it accepts that a number of small randomised trials report benefits, but characterises the overall body of evidence as limited, with studies that are typically small, short and varied in design, extract and dose, which makes them hard to pool with confidence.
• On sleep, it takes a similar position: some trials report improvements in sleep measures, but the evidence is not strong enough to draw firm conclusions about who benefits or by how much.
• On the extracts themselves, it makes the point I have made above from a different direction, that products differ so much in preparation, plant part and standardisation that findings from one extract do not automatically transfer to another.
• On safety, it notes that short-term use appears generally well tolerated, that long-term safety is not established, and that cases of liver injury have been reported, which is the subject of the next section.

That is a fair summary and I do not want to soften it. The dose-response meta-analysis above rated its own certainty as low, and the NIH position is consistent with that. The sensible reading is not that ashwagandha does nothing, it is that the tradition is long, the modern evidence is real but early, and anybody telling you the case is settled is overselling.

What is and is not established specifically in women

Since this page exists because women are searching for a female answer, let me separate what we actually know from what gets asserted.

What is established:

• Women were included in the great majority of the randomised trials, so the 300 to 600 mg range is not a male figure being borrowed.
• One trial has been run entirely in women, in perimenopause, and it used 300 mg twice daily for eight weeks. That is the single clearest women-only dosing data point available.
• At least one exercise trial analysed male and female participants separately at 300 mg twice daily and reported results in both, which is a genuine step up from mixed-cohort reporting.
• No trial has found that women need a different daily amount from men.

What is not established:

• There is no evidence-based reason to change the dose at different points in your cycle, and no trial has tested cycling the dose to the menstrual cycle.
• Safety in pregnancy, breastfeeding and while trying to conceive has not been established, which is exactly why the answer there is to avoid it rather than adjust the dose.
• Effects on hormonal contraception or on HRT have not been studied properly, so "no known interaction" here means "not investigated", not "shown to be safe".
• There is no separate paediatric or adolescent dose, because it is not recommended under 18.
• Body weight is not accounted for in any of the dosing research, so a woman of 50 kg and a man of 100 kg were given the same amount in these trials. That is a limitation of the evidence, not a finding.

My practical conclusion from all of that: use the general adult range, start at the lower end, and give the individual factors, above all your own sensitivity, more weight than your sex.

Starting low and building up: a simple four-week plan

You do not need to begin at the top of the range, and there is a good argument for not doing so. Starting low lets you find out how you personally respond before you commit to the larger amount, which is particularly useful if you are sensitive to anything that makes you feel relaxed or a little drowsy. Here is the approach I would suggest to a woman starting from scratch on a 5% standardised root extract:

• Weeks 1 and 2: 300 mg once daily, at the same time each day. If you are taking it for calm or sleep, evening; if for training, whenever suits your routine. Take it with food if your stomach is at all sensitive.
• Weeks 3 and 4: if you have had no digestive upset and no unwanted drowsiness, either stay at 300 mg or move to 600 mg per day. Most people who move up do so as 300 mg twice daily rather than one larger dose.
• From week 5: hold whichever amount you settled on and keep it consistent, because everything measured in the trials was measured after weeks of steady use.
• If you notice unwanted drowsiness at any point: drop back to the lower amount, or move the whole dose to the evening, rather than pushing on.

There is no rush built into any of this. Nothing in the research suggests a faster ramp produces a better result, and the lower end of the range is a legitimate destination, not just a staging post.

One dose or split through the day? And with food?

Both approaches appear in the research. Many trials split the daily amount into two, for example 300 mg in the morning and 300 mg in the evening, while others gave a single daily dose. For a woman starting out, either is reasonable:

• Single daily dose is simplest to remember. Many people take it in the evening, since full-spectrum ashwagandha and the L-theanine often paired with it are commonly chosen as part of a wind-down routine.
• Split dose (morning and evening) can suit people who prefer to spread it across the day or who find a large single capsule less comfortable. It is also the pattern the exercise trials used.

Ashwagandha can be taken with or without food, so take it whichever way you will remember to do consistently. If you have a sensitive stomach, taking it with a meal can reduce the chance of mild digestive upset. Timing is a common question in its own right, and I cover the morning-versus-evening debate in when to take ashwagandha. If you like the idea of pairing it, my guide to the ashwagandha and L-theanine combination, the note on taking magnesium and ashwagandha together and the wider best combinations with ashwagandha are worth a read.

What changes the right amount for you

There is no single perfect number, and a few factors nudge where a sensible dose sits. Body size matters: a smaller person may do well staying at around 300 mg of extract. Sensitivity matters more than most people expect, and if you notice a relaxed or slightly drowsy feeling, a lower evening dose suits better than a large one. The extract itself matters most of all, because a higher-withanolide extract delivers more active compounds per milligram, so the label number is not comparable across brands. And while there is no separate dose for older women in the trial data, age and life stage matter indirectly: the more medications you take, the more the interaction checks below apply to you.

Considerations for women at different life stages

Women ask about this more than any other group, so it is worth being specific rather than vague. The honest position is that the studied dose does not change by life stage, but the caution level does.

• Through the monthly cycle: there is no evidence that the dose needs to change at different points in the cycle, and no trial has tested cycling the dose to the menstrual cycle. Women who take it generally take the same amount daily.
• Trying to conceive, pregnant or breastfeeding: ashwagandha is not recommended in pregnancy or while breastfeeding. If you are actively trying to conceive, the sensible course is to stop and speak to your GP or midwife, because the safety data simply is not there.
• Perimenopause and beyond: this is the one life stage with a dedicated trial, and it used the standard 300 mg twice daily for eight weeks (Gopal et al., 2021). If you are taking HRT, treat it like any other medicine and check with your pharmacist before adding a botanical.
• Thyroid conditions, which are markedly more common in women: this is the single most important flag on the whole page. Ashwagandha may influence thyroid hormone levels, so if you take levothyroxine or have a diagnosed thyroid condition, get individual advice before starting rather than after.

How long before you notice anything, cycling, and continuous use

Ashwagandha is not a fast-acting substance, and honest expectations help. In the trials above, outcomes were measured after weeks, not hours. Most ran for 8 to 12 weeks, and the meta-analysis pooled studies of similar length. That fits the way many people use it: consistently for a period of up to around three months, then a pause to reassess whether to continue.

On cycling, you will see confident advice online about taking two weeks off every eight, or a week off every month. It is worth saying plainly that these schedules are convention rather than evidence, because no trial has compared cycled use against continuous use. What the research does support is that the studied periods were finite ones, mostly eight to twelve weeks, and the longest safety data we have runs to a year of continuous use. A reasonable middle path is to take it steadily for two to three months, then stop for a couple of weeks and see how you feel without it, which also tells you something useful. If you notice nothing after a full, consistent trial of a couple of months, there is no reason to keep going indefinitely.

Is there an upper limit for ashwagandha?

Unlike vitamins and minerals such as vitamin D, zinc, selenium or iron, ashwagandha has no official Tolerable Upper Intake Level set by regulators, because it is a botanical rather than a nutrient. That does not mean "more is better." Most human trials capped the daily amount at around 600 mg of standardised extract, and a minority went higher for short periods under study conditions. A practical ceiling for self-supplementing at home is therefore the studied range: there is little reason for a healthy woman to exceed roughly 600 mg of standardised extract per day without specific guidance.

On longer-term safety, a 12-month observational study of 191 healthy adults of both sexes taking a standardised root extract recorded only a small number of mild, self-resolving adverse events and no clinically significant changes in liver, kidney or thyroid blood markers (Salve et al., 2025, Phytotherapy Research, https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.70096). That is reassuring for tolerability, though it is an observational study rather than a randomised trial, and rare reactions can still occur in individuals.

The liver signal, honestly

This is the part several very large sites leave out entirely, and I think that is a mistake. You are more likely to take a supplement sensibly if you know what the rare problem looks like than if nobody tells you it exists.

A case series published in Liver International described five people who developed liver injury attributed to ashwagandha-containing supplements, three identified in Iceland and two through the US Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network. All five developed jaundice, along with symptoms such as nausea, lethargy, itching and abdominal discomfort, after a latency of two to twelve weeks. The pattern was cholestatic or mixed. None developed liver failure, and liver tests returned to normal within one to five months in the four patients followed up. Chemical analysis confirmed ashwagandha in the available supplements and identified no other toxic compounds, though four of the five were taking other supplements as well (Bjornsson et al., 2020, https://doi.org/10.1111/liv.14393).

Now the proportion, because context matters as much as the finding:

• It is rare. Five cases were assembled across two national reporting systems, against a product taken by very large numbers of people. This is not a common outcome.
• It appears idiosyncratic rather than dose-related. Nothing in the reports points to people taking unusually large amounts, which means "stay within 600 mg" is good practice but is not a guarantee against it.
• It resolved. In the reported cases the liver recovered once the supplement was stopped, which is why recognising it early matters so much.
• Product quality is part of the picture. Several patients were taking multiple supplements, and unbranded or adulterated botanical products carry additional risk that a named, tested, standardised extract does not.
• It is why long-term safety is described as not established. The 12-month observational data above is genuinely reassuring on group averages, but group averages do not capture rare individual reactions.

What to actually do with that. Stop taking it and contact your GP promptly if you notice yellowing of the skin or the whites of the eyes, dark urine, pale stools, persistent itching without a rash, unusual tiredness, nausea that will not settle, or pain under the right ribs. Do not take ashwagandha at all if you have an existing liver problem or drink heavily. And if you already have liver blood tests scheduled for another reason, tell whoever ordered them what supplements you take.

Who should avoid ashwagandha altogether

Before the "take care" list, here is the shorter and firmer one. Do not take ashwagandha, and do not treat the doses above as applying to you, if any of these describe you:

• You are pregnant, breastfeeding, or actively trying to conceive.
• You are under 18.
• You have a known allergy to ashwagandha or to other plants in the nightshade family.
• You have an existing liver problem, or you have been advised to avoid substances that are processed by the liver.
• You are due surgery within two weeks, because of the relaxant and blood-sugar considerations; tell your surgical team what you take.

Interactions and who should take care

This is the section where a supplement should never override medical advice. Take particular care, and speak to your GP or pharmacist first, if any of the following apply:

• Thyroid medication and thyroid conditions: ashwagandha may influence thyroid hormone levels, so if you take levothyroxine or have an overactive or underactive thyroid, get individual advice before starting.
• Sedatives and sleep medication: because full-spectrum ashwagandha and the L-theanine it is often paired with are chosen for winding down, combining them with sedatives, benzodiazepines or other sleep medication could add to a drowsy effect. The same applies to alcohol.
• Blood pressure and blood sugar medication: ashwagandha may affect blood pressure and blood glucose, so if you take medication for either, monitor and seek advice.
• Immunosuppressant medication and autoimmune conditions: because ashwagandha may stimulate immune activity, people taking immunosuppressants or living with autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus or Hashimoto's are usually advised to be cautious.
• Hormonal contraception and HRT: there is no robust evidence of a specific interaction, but if you take the pill or HRT and want to be thorough, it is reasonable to check with your pharmacist, especially alongside any of the above.

For a fuller treatment of these points, see my dedicated guide to ashwagandha safety and who should take care.

Reported side effects

In the healthy-adult trials, side effects were generally mild and similar to placebo. The most commonly reported ones include mild drowsiness or a sedative feeling, digestive upset such as nausea or loose stools, and headache. Taking it with food and at the lower end of the range can reduce the chance of these. If you feel unusually unwell, or notice symptoms such as unusual tiredness, dark urine or yellowing of the skin or eyes, stop and seek medical advice promptly, as these can be signs the liver needs checking.

How to choose a quality ashwagandha for women

Because botanical supplements are not all made to the same standard, the "how much" question is inseparable from the "which one" question. When comparing products, look for:

• A named, standardised extract: a full-spectrum, root-only extract such as KSM-66, standardised to a stated withanolide percentage (for example a minimum 5%), so you know what you are getting.
• Root, not leaf: the traditional part used is the root; quality extracts specify this.
• A clear daily amount: the label should state the extract amount per serving so you can place it within the 300 mg to 600 mg range and do the withanolide maths above.
• Purity testing: a product tested for purity and heavy metals at a GMP-certified facility, which matters for any concentrated plant extract.
• A short, honest ingredient list: ideally without unnecessary fillers, and vegan-friendly if that matters to you.

My own KSM-66 ashwagandha with L-theanine and vitamin B6 is built to these principles: a full-spectrum root extract standardised to a minimum 5% withanolides, manufactured in GMP-certified facilities and tested for purity and heavy metals, and formulated in the UK. If you are weighing it against a different botanical entirely, my comparison of lion's mane and ashwagandha may help you choose.

Where vitamin B6 fits in this formula

The vitamin B6 added to this formula does some useful, clearly defined work of its own, which is why I like it in a supplement many women take through the month. Vitamin B6 is a nutrient with authorised claims stated in their exact wording: vitamin B6 contributes to the regulation of hormonal activity, vitamin B6 contributes to normal psychological function, and vitamin B6 contributes to normal functioning of the nervous system. It also contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism and to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. Those belong to the vitamin B6 in the blend and sit alongside the ashwagandha root, which we value for its long heritage of traditional use.

Frequently asked questions

How much ashwagandha should a woman take per day?

Most research in adults used 300 mg to 600 mg of a standardised root extract per day, and women were included in those trials. The one trial run entirely in women used 300 mg twice daily, so 600 mg in total. There is no separate official "female dose", so body size, sensitivity and the specific extract matter more than sex. Starting at the lower end and staying consistent is a sensible approach.

Is 600 mg of ashwagandha a lot?

600 mg of a standardised extract is at the upper end of what most human trials used, not an unusual amount. Because ashwagandha has no official upper limit, there is little reason for a healthy woman to routinely exceed the studied range without specific advice.

Can you take ashwagandha every day?

Daily use is how it was taken in essentially every trial, so yes, consistent daily use is the studied pattern rather than an exception. What the research does not support is any particular cycling schedule, since none has been compared head to head with continuous use.

Is ashwagandha safe to take long term?

The longest human data available runs to about 12 months of continuous use in healthy adults, which recorded mild, self-resolving adverse events and no clinically significant changes in liver, kidney or thyroid blood markers. Independent reviews still describe long-term safety as not established, and rare cases of liver injury have been reported, which is why taking it for a defined period and then reassessing is the sensible habit.

Can ashwagandha affect your liver?

Rarely, yes. A published case series described five people who developed cholestatic or mixed liver injury after two to twelve weeks of taking ashwagandha-containing supplements. It appears to be an uncommon, idiosyncratic reaction rather than a dose-related one, and in the reported cases liver tests returned to normal within one to five months after stopping. Stop and contact your GP if you notice yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, pale stools, persistent itching or unusual tiredness.

Does the withanolide percentage change the dose I need?

Yes. Multiply the extract amount by its withanolide percentage to compare products fairly. 600 mg of a 5% extract gives about 30 mg of withanolides, while 600 mg of a 2.5% extract gives only about 15 mg. A higher-percentage extract such as Sensoril is usually dosed lower, around 125 to 250 mg, while a root-only 5% extract such as KSM-66 is typically dosed at 300 to 600 mg.

Should I take ashwagandha in the morning or at night?

Both are used in studies. A single evening dose suits many people because full-spectrum ashwagandha and L-theanine are commonly chosen for winding down, while a split morning-and-evening dose spreads it through the day and is the pattern the exercise trials used. Consistency matters more than the exact hour.

How long does ashwagandha take to work?

It is not fast-acting. Trials measured outcomes after weeks, typically over 8 to 12 weeks, so it is best judged over a consistent period of up to around three months rather than day to day.

Do I need to change my dose during my cycle?

There is no evidence that you do. No trial has tested varying the dose across the menstrual cycle, so women who take it generally take the same amount every day. Consistency is what the research is built on.

Who should not take ashwagandha?

It is not recommended in pregnancy, breastfeeding, when trying to conceive, or under 18. People with thyroid conditions or on thyroid medication, those on sedatives or blood pressure or blood sugar medication, and those with autoimmune or liver conditions should seek advice from a GP or pharmacist before taking it.

The bottom line

For healthy adult women, the ashwagandha dose seen across the research is 300 mg to 600 mg of a standardised root extract per day: nearer 300 mg for general daily use, 300 to 600 mg for calm and sleep, and 600 mg split into two for training and recovery. Take it as a single dose or split, with or without food, and give it a consistent trial of up to around three months. The form matters as much as the number, so read the withanolide percentage, choose a named, standardised, root-only extract, and check the cautions above, including the liver section, before you start. As with any food supplement, it works best as one part of a varied diet and healthy lifestyle, not as a substitute for either.

Sources

• Chandrasekhar and colleagues, 2012, 600 mg per day over 60 days in stressed adults, https://doi.org/10.4103/0253-7176.106022
• Salve and colleagues, 2019, 250 mg and 600 mg per day over eight weeks, https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.6466
• Lopresti and colleagues, 2019, 240 mg per day over 60 days, https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000017186
• Langade and colleagues, 2020, root extract and measured sleep parameters, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2020.113276
• Gopal and colleagues, 2021, the women-only perimenopause trial at 300 mg twice daily, https://doi.org/10.1111/jog.15030
• Akhgarjand and colleagues, 2022, dose-response meta-analysis of 12 trials, https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.7598
• Verma and colleagues, 2024, sex-stratified exercise trial at 300 mg twice daily, https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.130932.2
• Salve and colleagues, 2025, 12-month observational safety study in 191 adults, https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.70096
• Bjornsson and colleagues, 2020, ashwagandha-induced liver injury case series, https://doi.org/10.1111/liv.14393
• US National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements, ashwagandha fact sheet, consulted for the independent evidence summary and the safety position.

Shop KSM-66 Ashwagandha with L-Theanine & Vitamin B6

Dr. Miron, Founder of Pure Vitamins UK

Food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. This article is for general information and education and is not medical advice. Always speak to your GP or pharmacist before starting a supplement if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or have a medical condition.