The short answer
Simhanada Guggulu is a guggulu tablet that the Ayurvedic Formulary of India lists for amavata, which trial authors compare to rheumatoid arthritis, and for limping, gout, skin disease and other complaints. It is made from triphala, purified guggulu gum, purified sulphur and castor oil. Two small Indian trials in amavata compared it with other Ayurvedic tablets. It did better than one and worse than the other. Neither had a placebo or standard-medicine group.
It contains purified sulphur, a mineral, so it is not purely herbal, though sulphur is not a heavy metal. Guggulu has its own interaction pages; in one small study a guggulu extract lowered levels of propranolol and diltiazem. If you take propranolol, diltiazem, a blood thinner, thyroid medicine or arthritis medicines, tell your doctor before you start it.
What is in it
The official recipe is in the Ayurvedic Formulary of India, Part I, formulation 5:12 (printed page 71).[1]
| Ingredient | Botanical name | Part used | Proportion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haritaki (harad) | Terminalia chebula | Fruit rind | 48 g |
| Bibhitaka (baheda) | Terminalia bellirica | Fruit rind | 48 g |
| Amalaki (amla) | Emblica officinalis | Fruit rind | 48 g |
| Water for decoction | - | - | 576 ml, reduced to 144 ml |
| Saugandhika (gandhaka, sulphur), purified | - | - | 48 g |
| Kaushika (guggulu), purified | Commiphora wightii | Gum (exudate) | 48 g |
| Citra taila (eranda, castor oil) | Ricinus communis | Oil | 192 g |
Rows and amounts from the 2003 printed edition, which gives the guggulu part as exudate (the e-book copy says oleoresin). The 2023 amendment does not change this entry. These are batch amounts, not doses.[1]
Classical source
The formulary takes the recipe from the Bhaishajya Ratnavali, Amavata chapter, verses 130-131 in the 2003 print (the e-book copy gives 130-135). The verses ask for three palas of triphala made into a decoction, one pala each of sulphur and guggulu, and a kudava of castor oil, cooked by a skilled physician in a strong iron vessel. The formulary's weights match: 48 g to a pala and 192 g to the kudava.[1]
What it is used for
- The formulary lists it first for khanja (limping), pandu (anaemia), amavata (a joint disease often compared to rheumatoid arthritis), vatarakta (often read as gout) and kushtha (skin disease).[1]
- The list goes on to pangu (inability to walk), shvasa (breathlessness), kasa (cough), gulma (abdominal lump), shula (colicky pain), udara (abdominal swelling), jara (ageing), palita (greying hair), agnimandya (weak digestion) and disorders of vata, pitta and kapha.[1]
What the evidence says
RCT24 people with amavata at an Ayurveda college in Ahmedabad were randomly given Simhanada Guggulu or Shiva Guggulu for eight weeks. The authors report that Simhanada Guggulu gave better results. The abstract gives no numbers for the effect, no blinding and no side-effect counts, and both groups took an Ayurvedic tablet, so there was no placebo.[3]
RCT101 people with amavata were randomly given Simhanada Guggulu or Rasona Rasnadi Ghanavati, a garlic-based tablet, for three months, and both groups also had a paste applied to the joints. Both groups improved, and the Rasona Rasnadi group improved more. The shared paste and the lack of a placebo or standard-medicine group make it hard to say what Simhanada Guggulu did on its own.[4]
Safety notes
- Contains purified sulphur (gandhaka), 48 g in a batch. Sulphur is a mineral, not a heavy metal, but the tablet is not purely herbal.[2]
- Castor oil is the largest single ingredient by weight (192 g of the 432 g of solids and oil).[1]
- Contains guggulu. See Guggulu and blood thinners, Guggulu and thyroid medicines, and Guggulu and statins.
- In a small study of healthy men, one dose of gugulipid, a guggulu extract, lowered blood levels of propranolol and diltiazem, which could weaken them. That tested the extract, not this tablet. See Guggulu with propranolol or diltiazem.[5]
- We have not verified complete numerical side-effect reporting for these trials. That is not evidence that side effects do not occur.[3]
Who makes it
Sold in India by makers including Dabur, Unjha. We list names so you can match your bottle to this page. We do not recommend or sell any brand.
Withheld until review
Questions people ask
Related
Guggulu and blood thinners (warfarin, aspirin, clopidogrel)
Lab studies suggest guggul speeds up a liver enzyme that helps clear warfarin. Which way the INR would move is not known, and no study tested the pair.
InteractionGuggulu and thyroid medicine (levothyroxine)
Guggul raised thyroid hormone in mice. The one human trial in people on levothyroxine used a multi-herb tablet and cannot show guggul's own effect.
FormulationYogaraja Guggulu
A guggulu tablet for joints and amavata. A large Indian study saw knee pain fall, but it had no comparison group and used three medicines together.
FormulationTriphala Guggulu
Guggulu with triphala and pippali, listed for swelling, piles and fistula. One uncontrolled study in bleeding piles; the rest is lab work.
Sources
- Ayurvedic Formulary of India, Part I, 2nd revised English edition, 2003. Simhanada Guggulu, 5:12, printed page 71.
- Ayurvedic Formulary of India, Part I. List of single drugs: Gandhaka, sulphur; Guggulu, Commiphora wightii.
- Pandey SA, Joshi NP, Pandya DM. Clinical efficacy of Shiva Guggulu and Simhanada Guggulu in Amavata (Rheumatoid Arthritis). Ayu. 2012;33(2):247-254. PMID 23559798.
- Mahto RR, Dave AR, Shukla VD. A comparative study of Rasona Rasnadi Ghanavati and Simhanada Guggulu on Amavata with special reference to Rheumatoid arthritis. Ayu. 2011;32(1):46-54. PMID 22131757.
- Dalvi SS, Nayak VK, Pohujani SM, Desai NK, Kshirsagar NA, Gupta KC. Effect of gugulipid on bioavailability of diltiazem and propranolol. J Assoc Physicians India. 1994;42:454-455. PMID 7852226.
Updated 4 November 2026
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