Ayurvedic Dravya-Based Herbal Products for Cognition, Stress, Sleep, and Psychiatric Symptoms: A Node-Resolved Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND

Ayurvedic dravya-based herbal products are increasingly studied for cognition, stress, sleep, and psychiatric symptoms, but synthesis is complicated by heterogeneous preparations, incomplete reporting of Rasapanchaka-relevant attributes, and ambiguous common-name labels.

OBJECTIVES

To synthesize controlled human evidence on dravya-based herbal products for (A) cognition, (B) stress, sleep, and related well-being outcomes, and (C) psychiatric symptoms/disorders using a node-resolved framework.

METHODS

We conducted a PRISMA 2020-reported, node-resolved systematic review of controlled human studies evaluating a defined dravya node and at least one standardized mental-health instrument or cognitive test. PubMed/MEDLINE, the AYUSH Research Portal, and DHARA were searched from database inception to 4 January 2026; the evidence base was frozen on January 30, 2026, after deduplication, full-text retrieval, and manual reference-list screening. Interventions were mapped to node identifiers using botanical identity, part/material, and preparation; identity-uncertain labels were retained as separate strata.

RESULTS

Forty-nine controlled reports spanning 20 nodes were included. Evidence volume was concentrated in Bacopa monnieri (Brahmi) for cognition and Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) for stress and sleep outcomes. Meta-analysis was feasible for three primary strata: W. somnifera (Ashwagandha) versus placebo on perceived stress and sleep quality, and curcumin versus placebo on depression severity. Reported adverse events were usually mild but inconsistently captured.

CONCLUSIONS

Selected dravya nodes show potentially beneficial signals, but confidence in effect magnitude remains limited by heterogeneity, small-study effects, and reporting quality.