Index of Herbs

Concern guide

Herbs for Anxiety and Stress

Calming herbs that may help ease everyday stress and worry, with what the research shows and how to use them safely.

9 herbs reviewed

Updated October 7, 2026

Stress is the body’s natural response to pressure, such as a demanding job, an illness, or a family crisis, and some anxiety is a normal part of life. Anxiety disorders are different: worry or fear that lingers, shows up in many situations, and gets in the way of work, sleep, and relationships. Generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and social anxiety disorder are common examples, and anxiety often overlaps with depression.

Calming herbs can be a welcome source of support, especially for mild, everyday stress. Several have encouraging trials, led by a standardized oral lavender oil capsule, and a calming tea or extract can fit naturally into a routine that makes room for rest. For an anxiety disorder, panic attacks, or depression, talk therapy such as cognitive behavioral therapy and prescribed medicines such as SSRIs and SNRIs are the proven first-line treatments, and herbs work best as an add-on your clinician knows about rather than a replacement. A few popular herbs need extra care, from liver injury with kava to serious drug interactions with St. John’s wort.

The herbs below are ordered by strength of evidence for anxiety or stress, then by how commonly they are used. Ratings run from good clinical evidence to long traditional use, and they apply to the specific products and situations tested, such as a standardized extract taken for several weeks, so it helps to choose a product that matches the research. The linked monographs give full detail on doses, side effects, and interactions.

02 The shortlist

The herbs, from best studied to time-honored

How to read the ratings

  • Good clinical evidence
  • Promising clinical evidence
  • Early or mixed evidence
  • Long traditional use

Ratings show how much research backs each herb for this particular concern. Every herb links to its full monograph, with preparations, safety notes, and sources.

  1. 01 Lavender

    Good clinical evidence

    Lavandula angustifolia

    Lavender is valued for its calming scent, and as an oral capsule it has the strongest anxiety evidence of any herb here. A 2023 meta-analysis of five placebo-controlled trials with 1,213 patients found Silexan, an 80 mg standardized lavender oil capsule, better than placebo with no excess of side effects; the effect was modest, about 3 points on a standard anxiety scale, and nearly every trial was manufacturer-sponsored. Lavender scent is pleasant but less well studied. Burping is common with the capsules, and diffuser oil must never be swallowed.

    Read the lavender monograph →

  2. 02 Ashwagandha

    Promising clinical evidence

    Withania somnifera

    Ashwagandha root is one of the most popular herbs for stress. Small randomized trials found lower perceived stress and cortisol than placebo, and a 2022 meta-analysis found benefit on anxiety and stress scores; NCCIH agrees some preparations may help stress, though it calls the anxiety evidence unclear, and trial extracts differ from many gummies. Rare liver injury is documented, and it should be avoided in pregnancy and by people with thyroid disease unless a clinician agrees.

    Read the ashwagandha monograph →

  3. 03 Lemon Balm

    Promising clinical evidence

    Melissa officinalis

    Lemon balm is a gentle, traditional European remedy for mild stress, and it is generally well tolerated. Single doses increased self-rated calmness during a laboratory stress test in 18 volunteers, and a 2021 meta-analysis found better anxiety scores than placebo, though the trials were few, small, and varied in design, so more research would help. It may cause drowsiness, and anyone with thyroid disease should discuss regular extract use with a doctor.

    Read the lemon balm monograph →

  4. 04 Passionflower

    Promising clinical evidence

    Passiflora incarnata

    Passionflower is a traditional European calming herb, accepted by EMA as a traditional remedy for mild stress. Its most encouraging results are for anxiety before surgery or dental work, where small trials of 40 to 60 patients found a single dose reduced anxiety without obvious sedation. For anxiety disorders, a Cochrane review found only two trials, so more research is needed. It can cause drowsiness and dizziness, should be mentioned to your surgical team, and should not be used in pregnancy.

    Read the passionflower monograph →

  5. 05 Holy Basil

    Promising clinical evidence

    Ocimum tenuiflorum

    Holy basil, or tulsi, is a revered Ayurvedic herb now popular as an adaptogen for stress. In two placebo-controlled trials of proprietary extracts, in 150 and 100 stressed adults, stress scores fell more than with placebo over six to eight weeks, and the second also found lower hair cortisol; both trials were small, and the second was manufacturer-funded. It should be avoided in pregnancy or when trying to conceive, and it may affect thyroid levels, clotting, and blood sugar.

    Read the holy basil monograph →

  6. 06 Kava

    Early or mixed evidence

    Piper methysticum

    Kava is a traditional Pacific drink with a long record in anxiety trials. Older reviews found short-term benefit for some standardized extracts, though a 16-week trial in generalized anxiety disorder, published in 2020, did not beat placebo. The key caution is the liver: kava products have been linked to rare hepatitis, liver failure, and transplants. It should never be combined with alcohol or sedatives, and it impairs driving.

    Read the kava monograph →

  7. 07 Chamomile

    Early or mixed evidence

    Matricaria chamomilla

    Chamomile is a much-loved calming tea. In one small trial, a standardized German chamomile extract modestly eased symptoms of mild to moderate generalized anxiety compared with placebo; that result applies to the extract rather than everyday tea bags or severe anxiety, and NCCIH calls the evidence for anxiety limited. People allergic to ragweed or other daisy-family plants can react, rarely severely.

    Read the chamomile monograph →

  8. 08 Rhodiola

    Early or mixed evidence

    Rhodiola rosea

    Rhodiola is accepted in Europe as a traditional remedy for stress symptoms such as fatigue and exhaustion. In its best-known trial, 60 adults with stress-related fatigue did modestly better on a burnout scale than with placebo, though EMA and NCCIH both judge the clinical evidence not yet sufficient, and the only anxiety study was a 10-person pilot without a placebo group. Case reports link it to reactions with antidepressants, and it modestly slows an enzyme that clears warfarin, phenytoin, and losartan.

    Read the rhodiola monograph →

  9. 09 Bacopa

    Early or mixed evidence

    Bacopa monnieri

    Bacopa is an Ayurvedic herb best known for memory and described as mildly sedating, and some of its 12-week memory trials also reported lower anxiety scores as a secondary result. One trial found no effect on anxiety and another only a trend, so research on its calming effects is still emerging. Nausea, cramps, and loose stools are common, and it should not be combined with thyroid medicines or drugs that act on acetylcholine without medical advice.

    Read the bacopa monograph →

03 Caution

Using these herbs safely

Most of these herbs are well tolerated in short-term use, and a few sensible precautions go a long way. Some situations, though, need urgent help, not a supplement. Anyone having thoughts of suicide or self-harm should contact emergency services or a crisis line right away; in the US, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, and in a life-threatening situation call 911. Chest pain, fainting, breathlessness, or a racing or irregular heartbeat should be checked by a doctor, because these can come from heart rhythm problems, thyroid disease, or other conditions as well as from panic. Anxiety that disrupts daily life, panic attacks, persistent low mood, and anxiety alongside alcohol or drug use all deserve professional assessment.

Because they are calming, most of these herbs can add to the sedation from alcohol, benzodiazepines, sleeping pills, opioids, and sedating antihistamines; kava, passionflower, lavender, lemon balm, and ashwagandha all carry this warning, and a published case of coma involved kava taken with alprazolam. St. John’s wort, often taken for low mood, has the most serious interaction record of any herb in this index. It speeds the breakdown of many medicines, including birth control pills, warfarin, cyclosporine and other transplant drugs, HIV medicines, and several cancer drugs, and it can contribute to serotonin syndrome with SSRIs, SNRIs, triptans, or tramadol. Rhodiola also has case reports of reactions with antidepressants, so anyone on regular medicines will find it worth checking with a pharmacist first. An antidepressant or benzodiazepine should never be stopped or swapped for a herb without a prescriber’s plan; benzodiazepine withdrawal can cause seizures.

Kava carries the most serious organ risk on this page. It has been linked to rare hepatitis and liver failure, including transplants, and should not be used by anyone with liver disease or who drinks heavily. Ashwagandha is also rated a likely cause of rare liver injury. Yellow skin or eyes, dark urine, pale stools, or unusual itching after starting either herb means stopping it and seeking care. Ashwagandha, holy basil, bacopa, and lemon balm may affect thyroid hormone, so people with thyroid disease or on thyroid medicine should check first, and holy basil may raise bleeding risk with blood thinners.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding: most of these herbs lack safety data, and ashwagandha, passionflower, holy basil, kava, and St. John’s wort carry specific warnings to avoid them. European monographs do not recommend lavender, lemon balm, or passionflower under age 12, or rhodiola under 18, and anxiety in children needs a pediatric assessment. Product quality varies, so it pays to choose carefully: about a fifth of rhodiola products tested in one study lacked its marker compound, some Ayurvedic products bought online have contained lead, mercury, or arsenic, and trial results apply only to the specific standardized extracts tested.

04 Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

The best-studied option is Silexan, a specific oral lavender oil capsule, which beat placebo in several trials with a modest effect and no excess of side effects, though nearly all were funded by its manufacturer. Ashwagandha and lemon balm have smaller but encouraging trials for stress and anxiety. For an anxiety disorder, herbs work best alongside therapy or prescribed treatment rather than in place of it.

Herbs can sit comfortably beside talk therapy, and a calming tea or extract can be part of self-care for mild symptoms, ideally with your clinician in the loop. With prescribed medicines, check with your prescriber first, because some herbs interact. Herbs are not a replacement for treating an anxiety disorder, panic disorder, or depression, where cognitive behavioral therapy and medicines such as SSRIs have much stronger evidence. Stopping a prescribed antidepressant or benzodiazepine suddenly can cause withdrawal, and benzodiazepine withdrawal can cause seizures, so any change needs a prescriber’s plan.

Some older trials of standardized kava extracts found short-term benefit for anxiety, but it is not a safe first choice. A 2020 trial in generalized anxiety disorder did not beat placebo, and kava products have been linked to rare hepatitis, liver failure, and transplants. It should not be combined with alcohol or sedatives, used with liver disease, or taken before driving. Yellow skin or eyes, dark urine, or pale stools after kava need urgent medical care.

St. John’s wort is best known for mild to moderate depression, where specific extracts beat placebo and matched standard antidepressants in many 4- to 12-week trials, though two large US trials in more severe depression were negative; its research is about depression rather than anxiety disorders. The main caution is interactions: it lowers levels of birth control pills, warfarin, transplant and HIV drugs, and many other medicines, and it can contribute to serotonin syndrome with SSRIs and similar drugs. Anyone on regular medicines should have a pharmacist check before starting or stopping it.

Ask your prescriber first, because several calming herbs interact with these medicines. Kava, passionflower, lavender, lemon balm, and ashwagandha can add to the sedation from benzodiazepines, and a case of coma was reported with kava and alprazolam. Rhodiola has case reports of serotonin-type reactions with antidepressants, and St. John’s wort can contribute to serotonin syndrome with them. Blends that combine several adaptogens make it harder to tell which ingredient caused a side effect.

05 References

Sources

These references support the claims in this guide. Each herb’s monograph carries its own full source list.

  1. Anxiety Disorders

    National Institute of Mental Health (NIH), 2024

    Distinguishes anxiety disorders from occasional worry, lists the main types, and gives the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and 911 for crises.

  2. Efficacy of Silexan in patients with anxiety disorders: a meta-analysis of randomized, placebo-controlled trials

    European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience (PubMed 36717399), 2023

    The five-trial, 1,213-patient pooled analysis behind the good rating for oral lavender oil, with its sponsor ties noted.

  3. Does Ashwagandha supplementation have a beneficial effect on the management of anxiety and stress? A systematic review and meta-analysis

    Phytotherapy Research (PubMed 36017529), 2022

    Supports the some rating for ashwagandha, pooling small, heterogeneous trials of anxiety and stress scores.

  4. The effects of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) on depression and anxiety in clinical trials: a systematic review and meta-analysis

    Phytotherapy Research (PubMed 34449930), 2021

    Supports the some rating for lemon balm while flagging few trials and high heterogeneity.

  5. Kava for generalised anxiety disorder: a 16-week double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study

    Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 2020

    The negative generalized anxiety disorder trial that makes kava’s anxiety evidence mixed.

  6. Hepatic toxicity possibly associated with kava-containing products — United States, Germany, and Switzerland, 1999–2002

    CDC MMWR, 2002

    Documents the severe liver injury and transplants behind the kava warnings on this page.

  7. St. John’s wort

    National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NIH), 2025

    Supports the warnings that St. John’s wort interacts dangerously with many medicines and that its evidence concerns depression.

Other concern guides