Ashwagandha is not banned by WADA. It does not appear on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Prohibited List, and athletes can legally use it in competition. However, there’s a significant catch: supplement contamination is a real risk, and a tainted ashwagandha product could still cause a positive drug test.
What the WADA Prohibited List Actually Says
The WADA Prohibited List organizes banned substances into categories covering anabolic agents, hormones, stimulants, and other performance-enhancing compounds. Ashwagandha and its active compounds (called withanolides) do not fall into any of these categories. It is legal for use both in and out of competition.
That said, WADA includes an important disclaimer: the fact that a substance isn’t named on the list doesn’t automatically mean it’s permitted. Most categories list common examples rather than exhaustive inventories. Section S0, for instance, covers “non-approved substances,” a broad category that captures compounds not approved by any government health authority for human use. Ashwagandha itself doesn’t fall under this section since it’s a widely available, legally sold herbal supplement. But the open-ended language means athletes should stay aware of how WADA interprets its own rules.
Why Contamination Is the Real Risk
The bigger concern for drug-tested athletes isn’t ashwagandha itself. It’s what else might be in the bottle. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) lists ashwagandha among common herbal ingredients found in supplements that carry contamination risk. In one study cited by USADA, researchers purchased 12 “adrenal support” supplements labeled as containing herbal or animal-derived ingredients. Every single one contained at least one steroid prohibited in sport.
This doesn’t mean all ashwagandha products are contaminated, but it shows how common the problem is in the herbal supplement market. Manufacturing facilities that also process hormones or steroids can introduce trace amounts through cross-contamination. Some manufacturers intentionally add undeclared ingredients to make their products seem more effective. Either way, the athlete is the one held responsible under strict liability rules. A positive test is a positive test, regardless of whether you knowingly took anything banned.
How Athletes Can Reduce the Risk
Third-party testing programs exist specifically to address this problem. Products certified through programs like Informed Sport or NSF Certified for Sport are batch-tested for banned substances before reaching shelves. The KSM-66 ashwagandha extract, one of the most widely studied formulations, is certified through Informed Ingredient, a comprehensive anti-doping testing program for raw materials. Choosing a product with one of these certifications substantially lowers your risk, though no testing program can guarantee zero contamination with absolute certainty.
If you’re subject to drug testing, buying ashwagandha from a random online retailer or choosing the cheapest option available is a gamble. The price difference between a certified product and an untested one is small compared to the consequences of a positive test.
What Ashwagandha Actually Does to Hormones
Part of the reason this question comes up is that ashwagandha is marketed for testosterone support and stress reduction, which sounds like it could overlap with banned anabolic or hormonal agents. The research tells a more nuanced story.
A 2025 study in the journal Nutrients tracked male and female team sport athletes taking ashwagandha root extract over a 42-day preseason training block. The supplement did not significantly change testosterone levels in either men or women. It also didn’t alter DHEA-S (a precursor to sex hormones) or the testosterone-to-cortisol ratio, a marker sometimes used to gauge anabolic versus catabolic balance.
Where ashwagandha did show an effect was on stress hormones. Female athletes in the placebo group saw a significant rise in cortisol over the training period, while those taking ashwagandha did not. A similar pattern appeared for cortisone in males. The researchers interpreted this as ashwagandha helping to keep stress hormones within a normal adaptive range during intense training, rather than directly boosting anabolic hormones. This mechanism, modulating the body’s stress response system, is consistent with ashwagandha’s classification as an adaptogen. It’s a fundamentally different pathway than anabolic steroids or synthetic hormones, which is one reason it hasn’t attracted WADA’s attention.
Root Extract vs. Leaf Extract
Not all ashwagandha supplements are equivalent. Products made from the root tend to have lower levels of potentially harmful compounds like withaferin A, which is found in higher concentrations in the leaf. Most of the clinical research supporting ashwagandha’s safety and efficacy uses root extract specifically. If you’re choosing a product, check whether the label specifies root extract rather than a whole-plant or leaf-based formulation.