Is Ashwagandha Safe? Regulation and Restrictions by Country
A plain answer to whether ashwagandha is safe and whether it is banned, using NCCIH, a Danish restriction, a UK safety review in progress and what we could not confirm elsewhere.
Content last updated . This page has not been medically reviewed.
Safety first. Supplements can cause side effects and interact with medicines. Read mushroom safety and interactions before you use any mushroom product.
Short answer. For many healthy adults, the sources we read describe short-term use of ashwagandha as probably tolerable, with some known problems and some groups who should avoid it. The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) says it "may be safe when taken in the short term (up to 3 months)" and that there is not enough information on long-term safety. [1] Is it banned? In the countries where we could confirm anything, restrictions are real but not universal; the details are below, with what we could not read marked clearly.
Urgent first. Get medical care promptly, and tell the clinician you take ashwagandha, if yellow skin or eyes (jaundice), itching, nausea, tiredness or abdominal discomfort appear. Those were the symptoms in reported liver cases. [2] In an emergency call 911. See liver safety and supplements.
What "ashwagandha" means here
Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal (family Solanaceae) is the accepted name. [3] It is sold as root, leaf or root and leaf extracts. [1] Regulators and studies do not always separate plant parts, and a 2026 review said that European risk assessments and the Danish ban raised safety concerns "without consistently distinguishing plant parts". [4]Is it safe? What the sources found
| Question | What the source found | Strength of evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Short-term use | "May be safe" up to 3 months; long-term safety unknown. [1] | Agency summary |
| Common side effects | Drowsiness, stomach upset, diarrhea and vomiting in some people. [1] | Reported in trials |
| Trials of standardized root extract | A 2026 review of 23 trials (2,317 healthy adults) reported "No serious adverse events attributable to SARE", with limited data beyond 180 days. [5] | Promising but limited |
| Liver injury | NCCIH: rare, but "a number of cases" link it to ashwagandha. [1] | Reported in people |
| Who should avoid it | Pregnancy and breastfeeding, people about to have surgery, with autoimmune or thyroid disorders, and hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. [1] | Agency advice |
Liver injury in more detail. A case series from Iceland and the U.S. found jaundice and other symptoms after a latency of 2 to 12 weeks, mostly a cholestatic or mixed pattern, with liver tests normalizing in 1 to 5 months in four patients. [2] An Indian series reported that five of eight patients had underlying chronic liver disease and the three who developed acute-on-chronic liver failure died. [6] A 2026 scoping review of 25 patients concluded that patients with advanced chronic liver disease should be counseled to avoid ashwagandha. [7] More in ashwagandha side effects and liver injury reports.
These findings sit side by side. The trial review covered healthy adults and found no serious adverse events attributable to the extract. [5] The liver reports describe individual people who became ill. [2][6] Short trials are less able to detect rare events, so neither set cancels the other.
Is it banned? By country
| Place | What we confirmed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Denmark | A 2024 editorial in an Ayurveda journal states that the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration "decided to ban Ashwagandha based on a 2020 report" by the "Technology University of Denmark (DTU)" (the editorial's wording). [8] It quotes the agency's website as saying not to eat ashwagandha or supplements containing it because its root has negative effects on sex hormones and reproduction. [8] The editorial strongly disputes the report. | Secondary source; we did not read the agency page, and the ban date is not given in what we read |
| United Kingdom | The Food Standards Agency (FSA) ran a call for evidence on ashwagandha food supplements from 8 July to 2 September 2024. [9] The FSA's expert Committee on Toxicity discussed a second draft statement in May 2026 and a third in September 2026, with the papers "reserved" as commercially confidential. [10][11][12] A risk assessment is to be published afterward. [9] | Official pages, no ban stated in what we read |
| United States | NCCIH says supplements are not approved by the FDA before sale, and that the FDA can act when public health concerns arise. [1] No ban is described in the sources we read. | Official summary |
| Canada, Australia, the EU as a whole, India, others | Not read this session. We could not locate a readable regulator page, so we state nothing. | Unknown |
Why the Danish and UK reviews matter: a 2026 review argued that European risk opinions extrapolated mixed plant-part data to all ashwagandha, and that root, leaf and whole-plant products are different. [4] That is one group's argument, and the regulators have not published a reply we could read. Regulatory status changes, so check the current regulator page for your country. How the U.S. system works is in how supplements are regulated.
What a reader can do
- Check the label for the plant part (root, leaf, or both) and for other ingredients.
- Ask a pharmacist about your medicines. See ashwagandha and medicines.
- If you are pregnant, see pregnancy, breastfeeding and children.
- For the full guide, see ashwagandha.
Frequently asked questions
Is ashwagandha safe to take every day?
NCCIH says it may be safe for up to 3 months and that long-term safety is not established. [1] Ask a clinician if you plan longer use.
Is ashwagandha banned in the United States?
Not in the sources we read. NCCIH describes it as sold as a dietary supplement. [1]
Is ashwagandha banned in Denmark?
A 2024 editorial says the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration banned it. [8] We did not read the agency's own page, so check it directly.
Is the UK banning ashwagandha?
Not as far as the pages we read say. The Food Standards Agency is running a risk assessment through its Committee on Toxicity. [9][11]
Can ashwagandha harm the liver?
Rarely, yes. Reported cases include jaundice and, in people with existing liver disease, deaths. [2][6]
References
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NIH, U.S.). Ashwagandha: Usefulness and Safety. Last updated March 2023. Read 2026-10-23.
- Ashwagandha-induced liver injury: A case series from Iceland and the US Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network. Liver International, 2020. Read 2026-10-23.
- GBIF Secretariat. Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, accepted name, family Solanaceae. Read 2026-10-23.
- Plant Part-Specific Differences in Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera): A Comparative Evaluation of Root and Leaf Evidence for Safety and Regulation. Food Science & Nutrition, 2026. Read 2026-10-23.
- Back to the Roots: Safety and Tolerability of Standardised Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) Root Extract in Healthy Adults, a systematic review. Pharmaceuticals (Basel), 2026. Read 2026-10-23.
- Ashwagandha-induced liver injury: A case series from India and literature review. Hepatology Communications, 2023. Read 2026-10-23.
- Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)-Associated Liver Injury: A Scoping Review of Clinical Characteristics and Safety Considerations. Cureus, 2026. Read 2026-10-23.
- Danish ban on Ashwagandha: Truth, evidence, ethics, and regulations (editorial; full text at PMC11403136). Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, 2024. The editorial argues against the ban; the Danish agency page itself was not read. Read 2026-10-23.
- Food Standards Agency (UK). Summary of responses to call for evidence on Ashwagandha. Published 25 June 2026; applies to England, Northern Ireland and Wales. Read 2026-10-23.
- Committee on Toxicity (UK). 19th May 2026 Committee on Toxicity meeting. Published 25 June 2026. Read 2026-10-23.
- Committee on Toxicity (UK). 8th September 2026 Committee on Toxicity Meeting. Published 4 September 2026. Read 2026-10-23.
- Committee on Toxicity (UK). Final minutes of the 19th May 2026 COT meeting. Read 2026-10-23.