"Can I drink on ashwagandha?" is a common question with a short honest answer: nobody has studied it in people. What we can say comes from what each one does on its own, and from a small number of liver-injury reports that are worth knowing about if you drink heavily or have liver disease.

This article is educational and is not medical advice. If you drink heavily or are trying to stop, alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous: get medical help rather than relying on any supplement. Talk to a clinician before combining ashwagandha with alcohol if you have liver disease.

What has been studied: nothing in people

We found no human study of ashwagandha taken with alcohol (PubMed search, October 2026). The research that mentions both is in animals. In rats, an ashwagandha root extract reduced how hard the animals would work for alcohol (Peana 2014), and in another rat study a standardized extract reduced some alcohol-withdrawal behaviours (Haque 2021). Findings like these don't show that ashwagandha changes drinking or withdrawal in people, and ashwagandha is not a treatment for alcohol use disorder.

Drowsiness: two things that can add up

Ashwagandha can cause drowsiness in some people, and the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health lists sedatives among the medicines it might interact with. Alcohol is a sedative too. We found no study that measured whether the two add up at ordinary amounts. If you're thinking of combining them, ask a pharmacist first, especially if you take other medicines that cause drowsiness, and don't drive after drinking, with or without it.

The liver question

Liver injury from ashwagandha is rare but documented. A case series from Iceland and the U.S. Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network described five people who developed jaundice two to twelve weeks after starting ashwagandha supplements. None developed liver failure, and liver tests returned to normal within one to five months in the four who were followed up (Björnsson 2020). A larger series from India found eight cases linked to single-ingredient ashwagandha products. Five of those patients already had chronic liver disease, and the three who developed acute-on-chronic liver failure died (Philips 2023). A U.S. case report described liver injury in a man with severe alcohol use disorder who was taking a supplement containing ashwagandha (Vazirani 2023).

These reports don't show that alcohol makes ashwagandha harmful to the liver; no study has tested that. What they do show is who should be most careful: people who already have liver disease, which includes alcohol-related liver disease.

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Practical guidance

  • If you drink lightly and occasionally, there's no evidence of a specific interaction, but we found no study that tested the combination, so no evidence is not the same as safe. Ask a pharmacist or clinician before combining them.
  • If you drink heavily, or have any liver condition (fatty liver disease, hepatitis or cirrhosis), talk to a clinician before taking ashwagandha. The most serious outcomes in the case reports were in people with existing liver disease.
  • Stop and seek medical care for yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, pale stools, persistent itching, nausea or pain in the upper right abdomen.
  • Don't use ashwagandha to manage alcohol withdrawal. Withdrawal can be dangerous and needs medical supervision.
  • Tell your clinician about every supplement you take, including ashwagandha in multi-ingredient products such as testosterone or sleep blends.

The bottom line

There is no research on ashwagandha and alcohol together in people. Both can make you drowsy, and ashwagandha carries a rare but real risk of liver injury that is most dangerous for people who already have liver disease. For light, occasional drinkers that argues for caution rather than alarm. For heavy drinkers and anyone with a liver condition, it's a conversation to have with a clinician first.

References

  • Peana AT, Muggironi G, Spina L, et al. "Effects of Withania somnifera on oral ethanol self-administration in rats." Behavioural Pharmacology, 2014;25(7):618–628. PMID: 25115596.
  • Haque IM, Mishra A, Kalra BS, Chawla S. "Role of standardized plant extracts in controlling alcohol withdrawal syndrome: an experimental study." Brain Sciences, 2021;11(7):919. PMID: 34356153.
  • 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 International, 2020;40(4):825–829. PMID: 31991029.
  • Philips CA, Valsan A, Theruvath AH, et al. "Ashwagandha-induced liver injury: a case series from India and literature review." Hepatology Communications, 2023;7(10):e0270. PMID: 37756041.
  • Vazirani S, Kothari A, Fujimoto J, Gomez M. "Supplements are not a synonym for safe: suspected liver injury from ashwagandha." Federal Practitioner, 2023;40(9):315–319. PMID: 38562158.
  • National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. "Ashwagandha." Fact sheet, last updated March 2023. nccih.nih.gov/health/ashwagandha