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.

Sources checked on 29 October 2026.

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, in a review with two authors at UK supplement companies.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, run by a producer's laboratory, 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 The trials in full: what lion's mane is good for.

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. 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 drink containing lion's mane and ashwagandha on 16 July 2025. 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. 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. 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, hericenone B, slowed collagen-triggered platelet clumping in laboratory tests on rabbit and human platelets; tell the clinic.¹⁵ 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.

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; 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 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; 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 your local authority's trading standards or environmental health team, which works with the Food Standards Agency.¹³

What we don't know

No trial has given ashwagandha and lion's mane together, so the pair's effects and safety are unknown. Ashwagandha has no placebo-controlled data beyond 180 days and lion's mane none beyond 49 weeks, so years of use are unmeasured for both.^{3, 7} Why liver injury follows ashwagandha in a few people is unknown, and the lion's mane forum reports have no published case series behind them.¹⁴

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}

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

1. Chandrasekhar K, et al. Ashwagandha root extract for stress and anxiety in adults. Randomised trial, 64 adults, 60 days; no conflict declared. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 2012. PubMed 23439798.
2. Fuladi S, et al. Ashwagandha root extract in generalised anxiety disorder. Randomised trial, 40 patients on an SSRI, 6 weeks; funding not stated. Current Reviews in Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology, 2021. PubMed 32282308.
3. Coope OC, et al. Safety of standardised ashwagandha root extract in healthy adults. Systematic review, 23 randomised trials, 2,317 healthy adults; two authors at UK supplement companies. Pharmaceuticals, 2026. PubMed 42198398.
4. Mori K, et al. Yamabushitake (Hericium erinaceus) on mild cognitive impairment. Randomised trial, 30 adults, 16 weeks; run by a producer's laboratory. Phytotherapy Research, 2009. PubMed 18844328.
5. Docherty S, et al. Acute and chronic effects of lion's mane supplementation in young adults. Randomised pilot trial, 41 adults, single dose and 28 days; product supplied by a producer. Nutrients, 2023. PubMed 38004235.
6. Grozier CD, et al. Four weeks of Hericium erinaceus and metabolic flexibility or cognition. Single-blind placebo-controlled trial, 24 adults, 4 weeks; funding not stated. International Journal of Exercise Science, 2022. PubMed 36582308.
7. Li IC, et al. Erinacine A-enriched Hericium erinaceus mycelia in early Alzheimer's disease. Randomised pilot trial, 49 weeks; supplier-run. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 2020. PubMed 32581767.
8. Sharma AK, et al. Ashwagandha root extract in subclinical hypothyroid patients. Randomised pilot trial, 50 adults, 8 weeks; funding not stated. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2018. PubMed 28829155.
9. NHS. NHS talking therapies for anxiety and depression. Page last reviewed 5 November 2025. nhs.uk.
10. NHS. Taking sertraline with other medicines and herbal supplements. Page last reviewed 8 September 2025. nhs.uk.
11. NHS. Taking methylphenidate for adults with other medicines and herbal supplements. Page last reviewed 25 March 2025. nhs.uk.
12. NHS. Help for suicidal thoughts. Page last reviewed 26 April 2024. nhs.uk.
13. Food Standards Agency. How to report a food safety or hygiene issue for members of the public. gov.uk.
14. McIntyre D, et al. Ashwagandha-associated liver injury: a scoping review. Scoping review, 13 case publications, 25 patients; no funding declared. Cureus, 2026. PubMed 42367407.
15. Mori K, et al. Inhibitory effect of hericenone B from Hericium erinaceus on collagen-induced platelet aggregation. Laboratory study, rabbit and human platelets. Phytomedicine, 2010. PubMed 20637576.

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