amphipatic compounds (both hydrophilic/hydrophobic) synthesized in liver & secreted by gallbladder into intestinal lumen to emulsify fats in the intestine bile salts gut hormone secreted by intestinal cells when stomach content enters the intestine; stimulates contraction of gallbladder, release of bile acids & secretion of pancreatic enzymes
Ashwagandha does actually work, but don't expect it to be a magic pill that will solve all your problems. For me, this herb only improved my memory, verbal fluency and body temperature. Note that herbs as well as drugs affect different people in a different manner.
Ashwagandha is known to have a positive effect on hormones and it helps the thyroid gland to increase the secretion of the hormone. The studies do not reveal selectively its effect on T3 or T4, but the levels of both T3 and T4 go up with high quality supplementation of ashwagandha.