Yogaraja Guggulu

The short answer

What is in it

The official recipe is in the Ayurvedic Formulary of India, Part I, formulation 5:7 (printed pages 69-70), as corrected by the 2023 Amendment List-1.[1]

Rows from the 2003 printed edition, with the 2023 amendment applied to guggulu (27 parts; the print says 1). The recipe has no metal or bhasma ingredient. Products made before the correction, or by other recipes, may differ, so read the label.[1]

Classical source

The formulary takes the recipe from the Bhaishajya Ratnavali, Amavata chapter, verses 90-93 in the 2003 print (the e-book copy gives 90-95). After naming the powders, the verse asks for as much guggulu as all the powders together, pounded hard with ghee and kept in a greased jar. That is the amount the 2023 amendment wrote into the table: 27 parts of guggulu against 27 single parts.[1]

What it is used for

• The formulary lists it for amavata (a joint disease often compared to rheumatoid arthritis), adhyavata (often read as gout), sandhigata vata (joint disease, often compared to osteoarthritis) and majjagata vata (a vata disorder of the bone marrow).[1]
• It also lists udara roga (swelling of the abdomen), krimi (worms), dushta vrana (non-healing wounds), plihavriddhi (enlarged spleen), gulma (abdominal lump), anaha (bloating with constipation), arsha (piles), agnimandya (weak digestion) and daurbalya (weakness).[1]

What the evidence says

Small clinical studyAt 14 government Ayurveda research institutes, 483 adults aged 40 to 65 with knee osteoarthritis took Yograj Guggulu with ashwagandha powder, and applied Narayana Taila to the knee, for 12 weeks. Their total WOMAC score, a measure of pain, stiffness and function, fell from 52.3 to 28.8, and pain on a 10-point scale from 6.7 to 3.9. There was no comparison group, and three treatments were given together, so the result cannot be credited to Yogaraja Guggulu alone. The authors also had no X-rays or baseline blood tests.[3]

Case reportA man of about 55 in Lucknow developed itchy hives (urticaria) two to three days after starting Yogaraja Guggulu. The rash cleared three to four days after he stopped and came back each of the two times he restarted it. This is one person, so it says nothing about how often this happens.[4]

Safety notes

• 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.[6]
• Contains pippali and black pepper. See Pippali and phenytoin. Guggulu also has pages on blood thinners, thyroid medicine, statins and birth control pills.
• Health Canada warned in 2019 about Yograj Guggul capsules sold by Dutta Health Centre-Ayurvedic Clinic in Surrey, British Columbia: lead, mercury, alpha-asarone and beta-asarone were found. That applies to that clinic's product, not to every Yogaraja Guggulu.[7]
• In a 2008 US study, one Yograj Guggulu sold by Bazaar of India and made by By the Planet (USA) contained lead 17.5 and arsenic 10.5 micrograms per gram. That is one historical sample from one maker. The formulary recipe has no metal ingredient.[5]
• The 2023 amendment corrects guggulu to 27 parts; the 2003 print gave 1 part. A product made to the older printed recipe may hold far less guggulu, so read the label.[2]
• Maha Yogaraja Guggulu is a different formulary entry (5:6) that contains metal bhasmas and rasa sindura, a mercury compound. Check that your pack says which one it is.[1]

Who makes it

Sold in India by makers including Baidyanath, Patanjali (Divya), Dhootapapeshwar, Nagarjuna, 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

Sources

1. Ayurvedic Formulary of India, Part I, 2nd revised English edition, 2003. Yogaraja Guggulu, 5:7, printed pages 69-70.
2. Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy. Amendment List-1 (2023) to the Ayurvedic Formulary of India, Parts I to III, item 8 (Yogaraja Guggulu: purified guggulu revised from 1 part to 27 parts), page 4.
3. Kachare K, Makhija D, Sharma A, et al. Evaluation of Yograj Guggulu, Ashwagandha Churna and Narayana Taila in management of osteoarthritis knee: a study in tribal dominant community. J Ayurveda Integr Med. 2025;16(2):101077. PMID 40215578.
4. Rastogi S. Urticarial rashes following guggulu intake: a case report. J Ayurveda Integr Med. 2017;8(3):205-206. PMID 28826837.
5. Saper RB, Phillips RS, Sehgal A, et al. Lead, mercury, and arsenic in US- and Indian-manufactured Ayurvedic medicines sold via the Internet. JAMA. 2008;300(8):915-23. PMID 18728265.
6. 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.
7. Health Canada. Health Canada warns that products sold by Dutta Health Centre-Ayurvedic Clinic in Surrey, BC may pose serious health risks. 26 November 2019, updated 23 December 2019.