Benefits
Anxiety and cortisol in adults with high stress
In a 60-day placebo-controlled trial in 60 adults with high anxiety scores and high morning cortisol, Shoden at 60 or 120 mg a day lowered Hamilton anxiety scores by 59% and morning cortisol by 66 to 67%, with little change on placebo. In another 60-day trial in 60 stressed adults, 240 mg a day lowered anxiety scores and morning cortisol more than placebo.
Sleep quality
In a 6-week placebo-controlled trial in 150 healthy adults with unrefreshing sleep, 120 mg a day of Shoden raised self-rated sleep quality by 72%, versus 29% on placebo. Wrist activity monitors showed better sleep efficiency, longer total sleep, a shorter time to fall asleep and less waking during the night.
Testosterone support in men
In a crossover trial in 57 overweight men aged 40 to 70, 8 weeks of Shoden beads raised salivary testosterone 14.7% more than placebo, though fatigue, vigor and sexual well-being did not differ. In the 60-day anxiety trial, testosterone rose 22 to 33% in men versus 4% on placebo, but a 240 mg trial found no difference, giving mixed results.
Withanolide absorption compared with other ashwagandha extracts
In a single-dose crossover study in 16 healthy adults, each extract was dosed to give 185 mg of total withanolides. Shoden produced a higher peak blood level and longer half-life than extracts standardized to 2.5%, 5% or 10%. One author of the first report had a patent application with the maker. Higher absorption has not been shown to mean a greater health effect.
Mechanism of action
Stress hormone (HPA axis) effects
Shoden lowered morning cortisol more than placebo in two trials in stressed adults, and the authors suggest its calming effects work through the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) stress hormone axis. How withanolides do this in people has not been shown directly.
GABA and histamine receptors in laboratory models
In rat cells, Shoden increased the activity of genes for a GABA-A receptor subunit and the histamine H3 receptor. In mice it shortened the time to drug-induced sleep and lengthened sleep, and in rats it changed brain wave patterns linked to deep sleep. These are animal and cell findings.
Withanolide glycosides and absorption
In a single-dose human study, the 35% withanolide glycoside extract gave higher and longer-lasting blood withanolide levels than extracts with less glycoside, and the authors attribute this to the glycoside content.
Clinical trials
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel trial of Shoden 60 mg or 120 mg/day versus placebo for 60 days; primary outcome the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (Mishra et al. 2024, Heliyon).
60 adults meeting DSM-IV criteria for generalized anxiety, with HAMA above 20 and morning cortisol above 25 mcg/dL, without depression.
Anxiety scores fell 59% with both doses versus a 0.83% rise on placebo. Morning cortisol fell 66% (60 mg) and 67% (120 mg) versus a 2.22% change on placebo. Testosterone rose 22% and 33% in men versus 4% on placebo. Perceived stress and clinical global impression scores also improved versus placebo.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of Shoden 240 mg/day versus placebo for 60 days (Lopresti et al. 2019, Medicine (Baltimore)).
60 healthy adults with self-reported high stress.
Anxiety scores (HAM-A) fell more than with placebo (P=.040); the DASS-21 stress scale change was not significant (P=.096). Morning cortisol (P<.001) and DHEA-S (P=.004) fell more than with placebo. Testosterone rose in men over time but did not differ from placebo (P=.158). No adverse events were reported.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial: Shoden beads delivering 21 mg withanolide glycosides/day or placebo for 8 weeks each (Lopresti et al. 2019, Am J Mens Health).
57 overweight men aged 40 to 70 with mild fatigue; 43 completed all 16 weeks.
Salivary testosterone rose 14.7% more (p=.010) and DHEA-S 18% more (p=.005) than with placebo. Fatigue, vigor, sexual and psychological well-being improved over time in both conditions with no significant difference between them. Cortisol and estradiol did not differ. The maker was not involved in the design or analysis.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of Shoden 120 mg once daily for 6 weeks, using the Restorative Sleep Questionnaire, WHO quality of life scale and wrist actigraphy (Deshpande et al. 2020, Sleep Med).
150 healthy adults with non-restorative (unrefreshing) sleep; 144 completed.
Self-reported sleep quality improved 72% versus 29% on placebo (p<0.001). Actigraphy showed better sleep efficiency, total sleep time, sleep latency and wake after sleep onset than placebo. Physical, psychological and environmental quality of life scores improved. No treatment-related adverse events were reported.
Randomized, double-blind, single-dose, four-way crossover study of extracts standardized to 35% or 10% withanolide glycosides or to 5% or 2.5% withanolides, each dosed to give 185 mg total withanolides (Rathi et al. 2025, Curr Ther Res Clin Exp).
16 healthy adults under fasting conditions.
The 35% glycoside extract gave a higher peak level, longer half-life and lower clearance of total withanolides than the other three extracts. The same trial registration was reported earlier for a two-extract comparison by authors including one with a patent application assigned to the maker. Absorption was measured, not health outcomes.