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Ashwagandha vs Lion's Mane: What Each Was Tested For
Ashwagandha and lion's mane were tested for different things. Ashwagandha's trials measured stress and sleep scores, cortisol and thyroid hormones; lion's mane's measured cognition in older adults with mild impairment. No study has taken the two together, so "which is better" has no trial answer, and each carries cautions the other does not. This page sits in our guide to whether mushroom supplements work.
Is ashwagandha a mushroom?
No. Ashwagandha is the root of a small evergreen shrub, Withania somnifera; "Indian ginseng" is a nickname for its traditional use as a tonic, not a botanical relationship. Lion's mane is a fungus, Hericium erinaceus, sold dried, powdered or as an extract. Neither carries an authorised health claim in Great Britain.
What was ashwagandha tested for?
Stress, sleep and hormones. In 64 adults with chronic stress, 300 mg of root extract twice daily for 60 days lowered serum cortisol by 27.9% against 7.9% on placebo.1 In 40 adults with generalised anxiety disorder already on an SSRI, 1 g a day for 6 weeks lowered the Hamilton anxiety score by 14 points against 8 on placebo.2 Across 23 safety trials of a standardised root extract in 2,317 healthy adults, at 125 to 600 mg a day for up to 180 days, safety markers stayed within normal ranges, with mild stomach upset, headache and drowsiness.3 The sleep, memory, testosterone and thyroid results are in the ashwagandha guide and what ashwagandha does for the brain.
What was lion's mane tested for?
Cognition, mostly in older adults. The anchor trial gave 30 Japanese adults aged 50 to 80 with mild cognitive impairment 3 g a day of fruiting-body powder for 16 weeks: scores rose against placebo from week 8 and fell within four weeks of stopping.4 In 41 healthy adults aged 18 to 45, 1.8 g produced a faster Stroop test 60 minutes after a single dose and, at 28 days, a non-significant trend to lower subjective stress (p = 0.051).5 Four weeks at 10 g a day changed none of the measures in 24 young adults.6 The longest trial gave about 1 g a day of a standardised mycelium for 49 weeks in mild Alzheimer's disease; four participants stopped for stomach discomfort, nausea or a rash.7 It has not been tested for cortisol, sleep, thyroid hormones or testosterone. The trials in full: what lion's mane is good for.
| Question | Ashwagandha | Lion's mane |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Root of a shrub, standardised to withanolides | Fruiting body or mycelium of a fungus, as powder or extract |
| What the trials measured | Cortisol and stress (64 adults, 600 mg a day, 60 days); anxiety score (40 adults, 1 g a day, 6 weeks); thyroid hormones (50 adults, 600 mg a day, 8 weeks)1, 2, 8 | Cognitive scores (30 adults, 3 g a day, 16 weeks); one test after a single 1.8 g dose (41 adults); nothing at 10 g a day for 4 weeks (24 adults); 49 weeks of mycelium4, 5, 6, 7 |
| Not tested in people | Years of use; pregnancy | Cortisol, sleep, thyroid, testosterone; under-18s; beyond 49 weeks |
| Who should take care | Liver disease; thyroid conditions; autoimmune disease; prostate cancer; surgery | Mushroom allergy; panic, depression or psychosis; anticoagulant, immune or cancer medicines; surgery |
| Medicine interactions | Thyroid hormone (measured); sedatives (drowsiness); immunosuppressants (laboratory) | None studied in people; anticoagulants theoretical; antidepressants, stimulants and levodopa unstudied |
| Pregnancy and breastfeeding | Contraindicated on the pack | No data; not recommended |
Which is better, ashwagandha or lion's mane?
Better for what? Neither is ranked here: no trial has compared them and they measured different things. For a stress or sleep score, ashwagandha has placebo-controlled trials; for a cognitive score in older adults with mild impairment, lion's mane has a 16-week trial. Anxiety is a medical condition, which limits what a supplement page may say: the Advertising Standards Authority upheld complaints about anxiety and stress wording on a lion's mane product on 16 July 2025, and on 24 December 2025 ruled that testimonials naming both alongside an antidepressant were disease claims. Anxiety or low mood that affects daily life is a GP matter; in England you can refer yourself to NHS talking therapies.9
Can you take ashwagandha and lion's mane together?
No study has tested the two together: a PubMed search for the combination returns nothing, so there is no trial of the pair for any outcome and no safety data on it. Online forums pair them readily; a report is not a trial. Taking both means carrying both sets of cautions: ashwagandha has its own liver and thyroid cautions and is not for pregnancy or breastfeeding, and lion's mane's interactions are unstudied. Readers on levothyroxine or apixaban: the next section is for you. Tell your pharmacist first.
What should you not mix either of them with?
Ashwagandha first, because its interactions are measured. Thyroid medicine: in 50 people with subclinical hypothyroidism, 600 mg a day for 8 weeks lowered TSH by about 17% and raised T4 by about 20% against placebo, so anyone on levothyroxine or liothyronine, or with any thyroid condition, asks the prescriber first (ashwagandha with levothyroxine).8 Sedatives: additive drowsiness. Antidepressants, diabetes and blood-pressure medicines and anticoagulants: ask the pharmacist first; the medicine-by-medicine table is on who should not take ashwagandha.
Lion's mane has no human interaction study. Anticoagulants: one compound slowed platelet clumping in a laboratory test; tell the clinic. Antidepressants: the NHS sertraline page says to tell your doctor "if you're taking any other medicines, herbal remedies, vitamins or supplements".10 Stimulants: the NHS says there is "not enough information to say that complementary medicines, herbal remedies and supplements are safe" to take with methylphenidate.11 The table is on lion's mane side effects; the cross-species medicine table covers the other species.
Magnesium: no interaction study with either and no known mechanism; the one caution is drowsiness from a sleep blend. Shilajit has heavy-metal and purity questions of its own. Ginkgo and ginseng are different plants, with bleeding, blood-pressure and glucose cautions: what ginkgo biloba is good for and what ginseng is good for. Before any operation, tell the pre-operative assessment team about every supplement.
What do people report after taking them?
Lion's mane: on online forums, a minority attribute anxiety, panic, low mood, feeling detached or unreal, loss of pleasure, emotional blunting, low libido or poor sleep to it, and most disclose another plausible cause: an anxiety or depressive disorder, an antidepressant or stimulant, a supplement stack or a doubled dose. The research: trials to 10 g a day and to 49 weeks reported no serious adverse effect, with four people in the 49-week trial stopping for stomach discomfort, nausea or a rash; and on 11 October 2026 PubMed held no psychiatric case report attributed to lion's mane.6, 7 Anyone who feels unwell stops the supplement, never a prescribed medicine, and speaks to a GP or pharmacist or calls NHS 111; thoughts of harming yourself are urgent: call 999 or go to A&E if you are in immediate danger, otherwise NHS 111, your GP or the Samaritans on 116 123.12 Report a suspected reaction through the MHRA Yellow Card scheme.13 Everyday reports: how lion's mane makes you feel.
Ashwagandha: in the trials, mild stomach upset, headache and drowsiness at rates similar to placebo.3 Liver injury is rare: a review to December 2025 found 25 patients in 13 published reports, with jaundice and itching after weeks of use, recovery in most, one transplant, and three deaths in people with existing cirrhosis.14 Dark urine, pale stools, itching or yellowing of the skin or eyes mean stop and see a GP the same day.
Who should avoid each?
Ashwagandha: pregnancy and breastfeeding, contraindicated on every pack; under-18s; liver disease or heavy drinking; any thyroid condition or thyroid medicine; autoimmune disease, immunosuppressants or sedatives; hormone-sensitive prostate cancer; before surgery. Lion's mane: mushroom allergy; pregnancy, breastfeeding and under-18s; a history of panic, depression or psychosis, or a psychiatric medicine; anticoagulant, antiplatelet, transplant, biologic or cancer medicines until the clinic has been asked; before surgery. A suspected reaction to either goes to Yellow Card.13
Frequently asked questions
Is ashwagandha or lion's mane better for anxiety?
No trial has compared them. Ashwagandha has placebo-controlled trials in which anxiety scores fell, one in 40 people with a diagnosed disorder; lion's mane has only a non-significant stress trend in 41 healthy adults.2, 5 Anxiety that affects daily life belongs with a GP or NHS talking therapies.9
Can you take lion's mane, ashwagandha and magnesium together?
No study of the three exists, and no combination of lion's mane with any supplement has been trialled. Magnesium has no reported interaction with either; the caution is drowsiness from a sleep blend. Anyone on thyroid medicine or an anticoagulant asks the pharmacist first.
Should you take them at different times of day?
No trial has compared times. The ashwagandha trials dosed 300 mg morning and evening; the 16-week lion's mane trial split 3 g across three meals and the 28-day trial gave one morning dose.1, 4, 5
Sources
- Chandrasekhar K, et al. A prospective, randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study of safety and efficacy of a high-concentration full-spectrum extract of ashwagandha root in reducing stress and anxiety in adults. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 2012. PubMed 23439798.
- Fuladi S, et al. Assessment of the efficacy of Withania somnifera root extract in patients with generalized anxiety disorder. Current Reviews in Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology, 2021. PubMed 32282308.
- Coope OC, et al. Back to the roots: safety and tolerability of standardised ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) root extract in healthy adults. Pharmaceuticals, 2026. PubMed 42198398.
- Mori K, et al. Improving effects of the mushroom Yamabushitake (Hericium erinaceus) on mild cognitive impairment. Phytotherapy Research, 2009. PubMed 18844328.
- Docherty S, et al. Acute and chronic effects of lion's mane supplementation on cognitive function, stress and mood in young adults. Nutrients, 2023. PubMed 38004235.
- Grozier CD, et al. Four weeks of Hericium erinaceus supplementation does not impact markers of metabolic flexibility or cognition. International Journal of Exercise Science, 2022. PubMed 36582308.
- Li IC, et al. Prevention of early Alzheimer's disease by erinacine A-enriched Hericium erinaceus mycelia. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 2020. PubMed 32581767.
- Sharma AK, et al. Efficacy and safety of ashwagandha root extract in subclinical hypothyroid patients. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2018. PubMed 28829155.
- NHS. NHS talking therapies for anxiety and depression. Page last reviewed 5 November 2025. nhs.uk.
- NHS. Taking sertraline with other medicines and herbal supplements. Page last reviewed 8 September 2025. nhs.uk.
- NHS. Taking methylphenidate for adults with other medicines and herbal supplements. Page last reviewed 25 March 2025. nhs.uk.
- NHS. Help for suicidal thoughts. Page last reviewed 26 April 2024. nhs.uk.
- MHRA. Yellow Card. yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk.
- McIntyre D, et al. Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)-associated liver injury: a scoping review. Cureus, 2026. PubMed 42367407.
