Thailand Medical News Team Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Sep 16, 2026 47 minutes ago
An ancient medicinal herb best known for supporting women’s reproductive health is attracting scientific attention for another reason: its potential influence on the brain through the gut.
A new scientific review examines how Asparagus racemosus, commonly known as Shatavari, may support cognitive health through a combination of prebiotic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and hormone-related effects. Its key compounds include steroidal saponins—particularly Shatavarin IV—along with flavonoids, alkaloids, polyphenols, and fructooligosaccharides.
Researchers were from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur; Government General Degree College, Narayangarh, India; Adelphi University in New York; and Texas Southern University in Houston.
Feeding the Gut to Protect the Brain
A major focus of this
Thailand Medical News report is Shatavari’s possible action on the microbiota-gut-brain axis—the two-way communication network connecting intestinal microbes and the nervous system.
Shatavari contains fructooligosaccharides that can act as prebiotics, supporting beneficial bacteria including Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. The review proposes that improving microbial balance could strengthen intestinal barrier integrity, reduce inflammation, and help regulate neurotransmitter precursors.
This matters because disturbed gut microbial communities have been linked with altered neurotransmission and inflammatory signaling. Shatavari may therefore have effects extending beyond digestion, potentially influencing serotonin, dopamine, GABA, and other signaling systems involved in mood, learning, memory, and stress responses.
Shatavarin IV Shows Multiple Neuroprotective Actions
The evidence surrounding Shatavarin IV is particularly intriguing. Experimental work summarized by the researchers found reduced reactive oxygen species, improved cholinergic neurotransmission, increased synaptic acetylcholine, and inhibition of acetylcholinesterase. Studies in C. elegans models also reported reduced alpha-synuclein aggregation, restored dopamine levels, and increased expression of genes involved in antioxidant defenses and mitochondrial quality control.
Another possible pathway involves brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, which supports neuronal survival, synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory. Laboratory findings showed that blocking the BDNF receptor TrkB significantly weakened Shatavarin IV’s biological effects, suggesting involvement of BDNF-TrkB signaling.
Human Evidence Is Promising but Limited
Clinical findings provide early support. In one randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving perimenopausal women, 300 milligrams of Shatavari root extract daily for eight weeks reduced the total Menopause Rating Scale score by 42.6% from baseline, compared with 5.5% with placebo. Perceived stress dropped 29.6%, hot-flash scores declined 25.9%, and serum estradiol increased 32.8%, with no adverse events reported.
However, the review itself created no new clinical data. Major uncertainties remain over optimal dos
ing, pharmacokinetics, bioavailability, and whether Shatavarin IV or its metabolites reach the brain at therapeutically meaningful concentrations.
Conclusions
Shatavari offers an intriguing multi-pathway approach to cognitive health by potentially influencing gut microbes, inflammation, oxidative stress, neurotransmitters, hormones, and neuronal plasticity. However, promising laboratory and early clinical findings should not be interpreted as proof that Shatavari prevents or treats neurodegenerative disease. Larger, well-controlled human trials and standardized formulations are needed before its cognitive benefits, effective doses, and long-term safety can be established.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Nutrients.
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/18/3016
Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/herbs-and-phytochemicals 
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