Guide

Does Silver Fern Motility work? The Digexin trials, the artichoke dose and the cautions on the label

Q: Does Silver Fern Motility work?

No trial of Motility itself exists that we could find. Digexin, its main ingredient, beat placebo on constipation scores in a 135-person, 60-day trial at 300 or 500 mg a day, and one serving here is 500 mg, but the ingredient’s marketer funded it. Reviews split: 74% of 284 on the brand’s page are five-star, Amazon shows 3.8, and several reviewers report no effect after two months.

Q: What is Digexin in Motility?

Digexin is a trademarked blend of ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) root extract and okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) fruit extract, made by Laila Nutra in India and sold by NXT USA. Motility has 500 mg per serving, the top dose in both placebo-controlled constipation trials. The label does not print the split between the two herbs.

Q: Is Motility safe, and what are the side effects?

The label says pregnant or nursing mothers, anyone under 18 and people with known medical conditions should consult a physician, and it has no ashwagandha or artichoke warning. A 2026 scoping review gathered 25 patients with ashwagandha-associated liver injury, and consumer monographs advise against artichoke extract with a blocked bile duct or gallstones. Reviewers mention cramps, worse constipation and migraines in a minority.

Q: Can Motility make bile reflux or acid reflux worse?

The brand says the artichoke in Motility supports bile acid secretion. Two reviewers with bile reflux wrote that it made their reflux flare, and one said they had not read that artichoke promotes bile acid secretion. We found no trial of Motility in people with reflux; for that condition see the acid reflux guide.

Q: How many Motility capsules should you take, and for how long?

The label says 2 to 4 capsules daily with water. The brand’s mild tier is 2 capsules with the first meal and its moderate-to-severe tier is 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening, and it recommends at least 90 days. Neither Digexin trial tested 1,000 mg, the four-capsule dose.

Q: How much does Motility cost?

One 60-capsule bottle is $61.12 on the brand site, $2.04 a day at two capsules. The four-capsule tier takes two bottles a month for $105.82, about $3.53 a day. Subscriptions take 15% off ($51.95 a bottle) and Amazon lists $66.48.

Q: Who makes Motility, and what is the refund policy?

Silver Fern Brand, LLC, whose Motility page was created in February 2024. Unopened products can be returned within 30 days with a 5% restocking fee and opened products cannot, though a paid “satisfaction guarantee” at checkout allows a 90-day return. Amazon marks the listing non-returnable, and a 90-day course at the recommended dose is three to six bottles.

Quick answer

Does Silver Fern Motility work? No trial of Motility itself exists that we could find. Its main ingredient, Digexin (500 mg of ashwagandha and okra extracts), has two double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in functional constipation at 300 or 500 mg a day (48 people for 14 days, 135 for 60 days), both positive, and the dose matches one serving; the marketer funded the larger one and no independent replication exists. Its artichoke is 400 mg, against 1,920 mg a day in the one trial, which was in dyspepsia, not constipation. Amazon rates it 3.8 from 122 and the brand’s site 4.46 from 284.

The Motility label has 400 mg of artichoke leaf extract per serving, against 1,920 mg a day in the six-week functional dyspepsia trial. — Source: Holtmann et al., Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2003: functional dyspepsia, not constipation. Chart by SuppleGut, free to reuse with a link to this page.

Silver Fern Motility is a bottle of 60 vegetable capsules from Silver Fern Brand, LLC, sold as a non-laxative for slow motility and constipation. It pairs 500 mg of Digexin, a branded blend of ashwagandha root and okra fruit extracts, with 400 mg of artichoke leaf extract per two-capsule serving. Unlike most herbal constipation products, its main ingredient has two placebo-controlled trials at the label dose. This guide sets out what each ingredient has and has not been tested for, the cautions, the reviews and the cost.

What Motility is, and what it is not

Per serving of two capsules (30 servings a bottle) the label lists Digexin 500 mg (Withania somnifera root and okra fruit extracts, with the okra genus spelled “Ablemoschus” on the label) and artichoke leaf extract 400 mg (Cynara cardunculus, more than 5% flavonoids). Each active has its own amount. The split between ashwagandha and okra, the withanolide content, the artichoke extract ratio and the compound behind the “5% flavonoids” figure are not printed. The other ingredients are a vegetable capsule, pea starch, oat fiber and bamboo extract, with no amounts. It is not a fiber, an osmotic agent or a stimulant, and the brand page states that it is not a laxative.

The label has no allergen or free-from statement and no named testing lab. The Amazon product description we read is text from a different Silver Fern product (Reflux), so the brand page and label are the better references.

The trial of the product itself

We found none. We searched PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov, and the brand page links a section on clinical studies without naming one. The evidence sits with the two ingredients.

Digexin: two trials at the label dose

Digexin (code CL18100F4) is made by Laila Nutra in India and sold by NXT USA. It has two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in functional constipation, each with a 300 mg arm and a 500 mg arm. The 500 mg arm matches one serving of Motility.

A proof-of-concept in 48 adults (Rome III), 14 days: constipation symptom, quality-of-life and gastrointestinal symptom scores fell significantly against placebo (p<0.0001), and no adverse events were reported (Punukollu et al., 2024).
A trial in 135 adults (Rome IV), 60 days: symptom, quality-of-life and bowel-function scores improved and transit time fell (p<0.001), with relief reported from day 7 and no major adverse events (Singh et al., 2024). Trade-press coverage puts transit about 4 hours faster than placebo, with 500 mg giving greater benefit.

The limits: the 135-person trial lists NXT USA, the ingredient’s marketer, as funder, and one author also co-wrote a review of the maker’s data. We found no independent replication. We read the abstracts, not the full papers, so we could not see the group averages, dropouts or whether people on laxatives were excluded. The brand’s moderate-to-severe tier is four capsules, 1,000 mg, a dose neither trial tested.

The artichoke evidence

The artichoke trial is in functional dyspepsia, not constipation. In 244 analyzed adults (129 active, 115 placebo) a commercial extract at 1,920 mg a day (2 x 320 mg, three times a day) for 6 weeks improved overall symptoms 8.3 against 6.7 (P<0.01) and the Nepean Dyspepsia Index change was -41.1 against -24.8 (P<0.01) (Holtmann et al., 2003). Motility has 400 mg, 21% of that amount, or 800 mg (42%) at four capsules, of an extract the label does not name; the brand page says only that it tested many extracts and one worked.

The brand says artichoke supports bile acid secretion, which affects gastric emptying and bowel motility. That is a mechanism claim; the dyspepsia trial did not measure bile or transit. Two uncontrolled studies of IBS-type symptoms report improvement (Bundy et al., 2004; Walker et al., 2001). We found no randomized trial of artichoke leaf extract for constipation, and no head-to-head of Motility against fiber, magnesium or polyethylene glycol.

How to take Motility, and the two-tier cost

The label says 2 to 4 capsules daily with water. The brand page splits that into two tiers: mild, 1 bottle a month, 2 capsules with the first meal; and moderate to severe, 2 bottles a month, 2 capsules morning and evening. It recommends at least 90 days, though its page says most notice an effect in 2 to 3 weeks. The page also says not to take it at the same time of day as laxatives.

Option	Price	2 capsules a day	4 capsules a day
Brand, 1 bottle, one time	$61.12	$2.04	$4.07
Brand, 2 bottles, one time	$105.82	$1.76	$3.53
Brand, 1 bottle, subscription	$51.95	$1.73	$3.46
Brand, 2 bottles, subscription	$89.95	$1.50	$3.00
Amazon, 1 bottle	$66.48	$2.22	$4.43
Amazon, 2 bottles	$117.96	$1.97	$3.93

A recommended 90-day course is three bottles at the mild tier ($183.36 at one-time prices) or six at the moderate-to-severe tier ($317.46). A bottle at four capsules lasts 15 days, so the brand’s “30 day supply” at that tier is two bottles.

Side effects and who should not take it

The label says pregnant or nursing mothers, children under 18 and anyone with a known medical condition should consult a physician. It has no ashwagandha or artichoke warning. For context, a 2026 scoping review of ashwagandha-associated liver injury gathered 25 patients, mostly cholestatic, usually after weeks of use; most recovered after stopping and one needed a liver transplant (McIntyre et al., 2026). Those are case reports of ashwagandha products generally, not of Motility, and the Digexin trials reported no major adverse events. Consumer monographs say artichoke extract should not be used with a blocked bile duct and may worsen gallstones (MedicineNet; RxList). Artichoke is in the daisy family, and the label has no cross-allergy statement.

The brand page says fiber may make people with slow gastric emptying feel worse and that Motility can be continued with semaglutide, tirzepatide or other constipating medicines; the label has no medication caution.

What the reviews say

The brand’s widget shows 4.46 from 284 reviews (210 five-star, 26 four, 26 three, 14 two, 8 one), of which 181 are flagged verified buyers and 103 (36%) are not. Amazon shows 3.8 from 122 ratings (56% five-star, 8% four, 11% three, 11% two, 14% one), review text behind a sign-in; its own summary calls experiences mixed. Trustpilot has two brand-wide reviews.

The praise: regular bowel movements returning after years, coming off laxatives or managing constipation on GLP-1 drugs (about 24 reviews mention laxatives, 8 GLP-1 drugs), and no cramping. The complaints: no effect after one to three months, with some reporting 2 months before anything changed, and in a minority cramps or worse constipation. Two reviewers with bile reflux say Motility made their reflux worse; one wrote that they did not read that artichoke promotes bile acid secretion.

Refund terms

The brand returns unopened products within 30 days of delivery with a 5% restocking fee. It does not accept returns of opened products, shipping is non-refundable, and a separately purchased “satisfaction guarantee” allows a return within 90 days. Amazon marks the listing non-returnable. We found no billing complaints in the 284 brand reviews and one refund complaint about an opened bottle. A full moderate-tier course is six bottles, none returnable once opened.

Who Motility is for

Someone who wants to try the Digexin dose from the trials (one serving, 500 mg) and will give it a month or more.
A person with no gallbladder, bile duct, liver or bile reflux concern, who has checked ashwagandha and artichoke against their medicines with a doctor.
A shopper who prefers a capsule to a fiber drink and has priced the four-capsule tier.

The constipation guide covers the options with strong trial evidence behind them, and the Lanural Regularity Reset guide reads another non-fiber product against its trials. Fiber is at NOW Foods Psyllium Husk Powder and magnesium at Natural Vitality Calm.

The products in this catalog

herbal Silver Fern Brand Motility A once-a-day two-capsule serving of Digexin (ashwagandha and okra extracts) and artichoke leaf extract for slow gut motility and constipation. Buy it at Amazon$2.22 a day

magnesium Natural Vitality CALM Magnesium Powder, Unflavored An evening powder people reach for when things slow down. Buy it at Amazon$0.19 a day

fiber NOW Foods Psyllium Husk Powder One ingredient, nothing else, mixed into water once a day. Buy it at iHerb$0.31 a day

magnesium Lanural Regularity Reset A three-capsule nightly formula of magnesium oxide, kiwifruit extract and triphala for regularity.

Common questions