Liver injury associated with ashwagandha supplements
The question: Is ashwagandha always safe for the liver?
- Study type
- Case series
- Participants
- 5
- Population
- Five people who developed liver injury after taking ashwagandha supplements
- Intervention
- Ashwagandha supplements
- Duration
- Onset 2 to 12 weeks after starting
- Published
- Liver International, 2020
What was measured
Pattern, severity and recovery of liver injury.
What was found
All five developed jaundice with a cholestatic or mixed pattern of injury. None developed liver failure and liver tests returned to normal within one to five months in four patients.
Limitations
A case series cannot estimate how often this happens. It shows that the reaction is possible, not how likely it is.
What it means
Rare but real. Anyone with liver disease, or who develops jaundice, itching or dark urine while taking ashwagandha, should stop and see a doctor.
Source
Björnsson HK, Björnsson ES, Avula B, et al. Ashwagandha-induced liver injury: A case series from Iceland and the US Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network. Liver Int. 2020;40(4):825-829.
Read the original (DOI 10.1111/liv.14393) · Source verified 8 October 2026
Study summaries describe published research for education. They are not claims about any product and are not medical advice.