An interventional study of Ashwagandha and Placebo in Muscle Damage, sponsored by University of Saskatchewan. Completed at 1 site in Canada. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 35 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-02-23.
Sponsored by University of Saskatchewan · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
Ashwagandha is an herbal supplement that has a wide range of benefits related to exercise when supplemented for about 8-12 weeks. This study aims to investigate whether short-term Ashwagandha supplementation can enhance muscle recovery following exercise by measuring muscle strength recovery, swelling, and soreness in the biceps.
The purpose of the study is to determine the effects of Ashwagandha supplementation on recovery from muscle-damaging exercise. Ten to twenty participants will be randomized to receive Ashwagandha supplementation (600 mg/d) or placebo for 10 days. On day 7, participants will perform a muscle damaging exercise session (six sets of concentric and emphasized eccentric repetitions with the biceps). Before and after exercise and at 24, 48, and 72 hours after exercise, isometric muscle strength, muscle swelling (ultrasound), and muscle soreness will be assessed. The investigators hypothesize the Ashwagandha will alleviate symptoms of muscle damage (swelling and soreness) and enhance strength recovery after a bout of muscle-damaging exercise.
University of Saskatchewan is the lead sponsor of 237 studies on the registry; 33 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Inclusion Criteria: male or female, aged 18-35y
-
Exclusion Criteria:
Conditions that may be affected by exercise (determined by "yes" answers to the "Get Active Questionnaire") Pregnant Breastfeeding
Allergies to:
600 mg/d placebo for 10 days
Dietary Supplement: Placebo
600 mg/d Ashwagandha
Dietary Supplement: Ashwagandha
600 mg/d Ashwagandha
600 mg/d placebo
Change in isometric biceps strength measured with a dynamometer (Nm)
Time frame: 72 hours
Change in muscle thickness measured with ultrasound (cm)
Time frame: 72 hours
Change in muscle soreness measured with a visual analog scale with scores ranging from 0 (no soreness) to 10 (maximal soreness)
Time frame: 72 hours
Change in sleep quality with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index with scores ranging from 0 (no sleep problems) to 3 (lowest sleep quality)
Time frame: 10 days
Plan to share: No
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
This study is completed, as verified in Feb 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
University of Saskatchewan