Safety and efficacy of Withania somnifera for anxiety and insomnia: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Hum Psychopharmacol
; : e2911, 2024 Jul 31.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39083548
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
Despite the historical neurological use of Withania somnifera, limited evidence supports its efficacy for conditions like anxiety and insomnia. Given its known anti-stress properties, this review evaluated its safety and efficacy for anxiety and insomnia.METHODS:
We searched Medline, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar until August 2023 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing W. somnifera to placebo in patients with anxiety and/or insomnia. Outcome measures included changes in anxiety levels via the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A), Sleep Onset Latency (SOL), Total Sleep Time (TST), Wake After Sleep Onset (WASO), Total Time in Bed (TIB), Sleep Efficiency (SE), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score. We utilized a random-effect model for pooling Mean Differences (MD) with a 95% Confidence Interval (CI). Heterogeneity was assessed through sensitivity and subgroup analysis, and the quality of RCTs was evaluated using the Cochrane revised risk of bias tool.RESULTS:
Pooled results from five RCTs (n = 254) demonstrated that W. somnifera significantly reduced HAM-A scores (MD = -5.96; [95% CI -10.34, -1.59]; P = 0.008; I2 = 98%), as well as sleep parameters such as SOL, TST, PSQI, and SE, but not WASO and TIB.CONCLUSION:
While W. somnifera extracts yielded promising results, further research with larger sample sizes is needed to confirm its effects on anxiety and insomnia.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
Hum Psychopharmacol
Journal subject:
PSICOFARMACOLOGIA
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Country of publication: