To determine if an anupana substance would help enhance Ashwagandha's immune properties, the (NCNM) research team used milk in a co-administered intervention along with the herb extract. Zwickey said that cows’ milk was chosen over other potential substances for the immunological study because Ayurvedic medicine considers it to be a strengthening, nutritive driver for medicines.
They measured the effect of the concoction on the activation of lymphocytes. There are four types of lymphocytes considered: NK (natural killer) cells, B-cells (which make antibodies), CD4+ T cells (Helper T cells) and CD8+ T cells (killer T's). The found that overall white blood cells (lymphocytes) were more activated, but the most pronounced effect was on the CD56+ Natural Killer cells. NK cells are key players that can make the difference in a person's survival of cancer, among other things. Besides the strong effect on NK cells, they found a statistically significant increase in the number of CD4+ T helper cells. Other findings were not statistically significant.
Here's the NCNM writeup on the study. It's not published anywhere yet, but I think it will be.