Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) has a long history of use in Ayurvedic medicine, traditionally regarded as an adaptogen—a substance that helps the body adapt to stress. Its use for supporting the "adrenal glands body system" is linked to its reputed ability to modulate stress responses, as the adrenal glands produce key stress hormones such as cortisol.

Scientific research has investigated ashwagandha’s effects on stress and cortisol. Several randomized, placebo-controlled trials have shown that standardized ashwagandha extracts can reduce self-reported stress and lower serum cortisol levels in chronically stressed adults (Chandrasekhar et al., 2012; Lopresti et al., 2019). These effects are believed to be due to ashwagandha’s influence on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, a central stress response system involving the adrenal glands.

While the term “adrenal support” is not a defined medical condition and “adrenal fatigue” is not widely recognized in conventional medicine, the evidence does support ashwagandha’s use for mitigating stress and normalizing cortisol—key functions of the adrenal glands. However, the majority of studies are small, short-term, and often use healthy but stressed individuals rather than those with diagnosed adrenal disorders. Thus, while scientific evidence exists for ashwagandha’s stress-modulating and cortisol-lowering effects, its direct impact on adrenal health in disease states remains less certain.