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Check an ingredient
before you recommend it

What the studies show, the doses they used,
and who should avoid it

Snapshot

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is an evergreen shrub that has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of yearsNCCIH. Its main draw is a dampened stress response, probably via the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and cortisolLopresti 2019. Adults with high stress use it mainly for stress and anxiety, then for sleep and insomnia. Fatigue, male fertility and testosterone, and athletic performance are also pursued, with limited evidenceNCCIH.

Meta-analyses of randomized trials found lower stress and anxiety scoresAkhgarjand 2022 +1, and one rated the certainty of that evidence low. A National Institutes of Health (NIH) fact sheet calls the anxiety evidence unclearNCCIH. Sleep effects were small but significant, and larger in adults with insomniaCheah 2021. A 2023 case report described jaundice beginning two weeks after starting ashwagandha, resolving within five months of withdrawalTóth 2023. Products are sold as root, leaf, or combined extracts; see Form comparisonNCCIH.

Hormone-sensitive prostate cancer is the most consequential exclusion, because ashwagandha may raise testosteroneNCCIH. The NIH fact sheet lists possible interactions with diabetes, blood pressure, sedative, anticonvulsant, immunosuppressant, and thyroid hormone medications, and asks patients to discuss use with their health care providersNCCIH.

Ashwagandha

Snapshot

The research on supplements grows every day, and it’s scattered across journals. A 2025 meta-analysis on folic acid and cardiovascular outcomes screened 25,881 articles to answer one question. Meanwhile, more people in the United States take supplements every year.

No practitioner can read all of it. They need the key findings when they’re making a recommendation. Qaytona uses AI to work through the literature at that scale and checks every claim against the paper it cites. The monographs are written in an academic tone and stay close to what the studies found.

Everything about an ingredient in one place

The studies, doses, and cautions you need, plus what people say about it. Every line cited.

Where it comes from

Everything from PubMed to Reddit, read against each other rather than blended.

Every claim cited

Each line links to its source with a preview so you know what you're citing

Build your library

Bookmark the ingredients you use and file them into folders.

Deep search anything

Find an ingredient, or search inside every monograph. ⌘K from anywhere.

Built on sources you already trust

“I sell these products, so I'm careful about what I put my name on. Qaytona doesn't sell anything. It shows the studies, the doses, and the cautions, and it labels what's evidence and what's hearsay. It's the reference I wish I'd had twenty years ago.”

Dr. Eric Steiner
President, Mountain State Health Products

Pricing

Qaytona is free while it’s in beta. Practitioners get the full library while we build it with them.

Practitioner

Freewhile it's in beta

Includes:

  • The full ingredient library
  • Deep search across every monograph
  • Your own library and folders
  • Updates as the literature moves
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Practice

Custom

Everything in Practitioner, plus:

  • Shared folders across the team
  • Seats and invoicing handled for you
  • Onboarding for your organization
  • Priority email support
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Questions

Is this medical advice?
No. Qaytona is an educational reference for licensed practitioners. It informs a clinical decision. It doesn’t make one.
Who is it for?
Practitioners who recommend supplements and want to see the evidence first: functional and integrative physicians, naturopaths, dietitians, pharmacists, and the people who train them.
Where does the evidence come from?
Peer-reviewed literature through PubMed, NIH ODS, NCCIH, MSKCC, ClinicalTrials.gov, and FDA adverse-event reports lead every clinical claim. Traditional-use texts and community reports are shown alongside, labeled as such, never blended in. The full method is on the methodology article.
How is a monograph made?
A pipeline fetches the literature, builds a corpus, drafts each section, verifies every citation against its source, and corrects itself. A clinician reviews it before it goes live.
How often is it updated?
Monographs are regenerated as the literature and the pipeline improve. Every monograph shows the date it was last updated.
Where can I use it?
In your browser on desktop for now. Apps for macOS and iOS are coming this winter.
How do I get access?
Sign up with Google, Microsoft, or your email. Full access while it’s in beta, no card needed.

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