Guggul (guggulu) comes from the plant Commiphora mukul and is one of the oldest herbs in Ayurvedic medicine, used for inflammation, diabetes, arthritis, obesity and high cholesterol. In the US it is sold over the counter as a dietary supplement, mainly to lower cholesterol.
Also known as: guggulu, guggulipid, Commiphora mukul, guggulsterone.
An 8-week placebo-controlled trial used standard (1,000 mg) or high (2,000 mg) doses of guggulipid, standardized to 2.5% guggulsterones, three times a day (Szapary 2003). These are study protocols, not a recommendation.
It is sold in the US as a dietary supplement. Under the 1994 dietary supplement law (DSHEA), FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they are marketed, and the maker, not FDA, is responsible for safety and labeling.
What studies show: in a placebo-controlled trial of 103 US adults with high cholesterol, 8 weeks of guggulipid did not lower cholesterol; LDL cholesterol rose about 4 to 5%, while it fell 5% on placebo. Total cholesterol, HDL and triglycerides did not change (Szapary 2003). A 2023 review says clinical studies have identified a role only in hemorrhoids and lowering blood fats, and that research on its toxicology and quality control is weak (Garang 2023).
Safety: in the 8-week trial, 6 people taking guggulipid developed an allergic skin rash, compared with none on placebo (Szapary 2003). The sources here do not describe drug interactions.
We could not find a single published half-life or time to peak for guggul that applies to a supplement dose, so we do not list one. Plant and bee products are mixtures of many compounds, so no single figure would describe them.
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