This question is an excellent example of the confusion that can arise at the interface of different healing traditions. How strong an actual MAO inhibitor is the Ashwagandha preparation you are considering? Have there been any published reports of taking the herb along with any of the common MAO inhibitor anti-depressant medications causing an adverse reaction? Ever? I found a lab study using a rodent model that showed MAO inhibition by Ashwagandha, and this article was cited over and over as the reason to avoid the herb when taking an MAO inhibitor. But translating the theoretical implications of laboratory studies on non-human systems into clinical reality is far more complicated than it might appear. Try to keep in mind that if you want to apply the logic of scientific medicine to Ayurveda, or any other alternative system, you will run into many situations where lack of quantification of effects and lack of large sample clinical studies creates this confusion in trying to separate marginal effects that might rarely be found at extremes of dosage from clinically important ones. Similar issues come up with cannabis and the cytochrome p450 enzyme system, where theoretical effects suggest concerns for which almost no clinical data exist one way or another. My counsel: moderation in all things.
drelkind