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Ayurveda

AmlaEmblica officinalis (Phyllanthus emblica)

A sour Indian fruit used in Ayurveda for acidity; one placebo-controlled trial in 68 people with non-erosive reflux found less heartburn and regurgitation than placebo.

Botanical name
Emblica officinalis (Phyllanthus emblica)
Part used
fruit
Also called
Sanskrit Amalaki, Dhatri; Hindi Amla, Aonla; Indian gooseberry, Emblic myrobalan
Used in
Ayurveda
Taken for
Reflux and heartburn, Indigestion, Constipation
Sold as
fresh fruit, dried powder (churna), tablets, capsules, juice, extract

The plant

Amla is the fruit of Emblica officinalis, also called Phyllanthus emblica, a tree native to the Indian subcontinent. The fruit is a pale green, round, very sour berry about the size of a large marble, eaten fresh, pickled, as juice, or dried and ground into powder. It is a long-standing source of vitamin C and tannins.

In Ayurveda the dried fruit is called amalaki. It is one of the three fruits in triphala and is also taken on its own as a powder (churna), a tablet or capsule, or a concentrated extract. The fruit is also used for conditions outside the gut, including the cold, fever, cough, diabetes, anemia and hair complaints listed in the reviews. This entry covers the digestive uses only, and the human data for those are thin: one reflux trial and one older dyspepsia trial.

How the traditions use it

Ayurveda (about Ayurveda)

In the Bhavaprakasha Nighantu, a classical materia medica, amalaki carries five of the six tastes (all but salty) and is described as heavy, dry and cooling, with a sweet post-digestive effect (vipaka). The tradition calls it tridosha shamaka, meaning it is said to calm all three body types, and the texts class it as a rasayana (a rejuvenating tonic). Reviews of the traditional literature list digestive uses that include dyspepsia, colic, flatulence, hyperacidity, peptic ulcer, diarrhea and dysentery. These are the tradition’s own categories, not measurements of the body.

What is in it

Reviews describe the fruit as a source of vitamin C, tannins (including gallic and ellagic acids), flavonoids, saponins and amino acids. In animal studies, an amla extract showed prokinetic (motility-speeding) and laxative activity in rodents, and a spasmodic effect on isolated small-intestine tissue from guinea pig and rabbit. Other animal work reported that an aqueous extract eased a functional dyspepsia model by changing gut hormones and gut bacteria. These are lab and animal findings; whether they hold in people is the question the trials below try to answer.

What the human trials show

The main human trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in Iran, published in 2018. It enrolled 68 patients who had had heartburn, regurgitation and epigastric pain for at least three months and whose symptoms fit non-erosive reflux disease. They took two 500 mg amla tablets twice a day after meals (2 g a day) or matching placebo for 4 weeks, and symptoms were scored for frequency and severity at weeks 2 and 4. Heartburn and regurgitation frequency fell in both groups (P < 0.001). The amla group had a larger fall in regurgitation frequency, heartburn frequency and the severity of both than the placebo group (P < 0.001). The abstract does not report group averages, so we can say the direction and statistical strength but not the size of the difference. The trial was run at one site, lasted 4 weeks, and did not compare amla with an acid-suppressing drug or follow patients after treatment ended.

An earlier randomized trial of amalaki in dyspepsia was published in 1982 in a supplement to the Indian Journal of Medical Research. PubMed lists it as a randomized controlled trial, but the record has no abstract and we could not retrieve the full text, so we do not quote its enrollment or results.

Beyond these two, amla is tested mostly as one of the three fruits in triphala, where a 2017 review lists reduced hyperacidity among triphala’s candidate uses. We could not find trials of amla for constipation, diarrhea, IBS or inflammatory bowel disease in people, even though the traditional literature and animal work point there.

StudyDoseWhat it found
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 68 patients with non-erosive reflux disease PMID 295262361 g twice a day (two 500 mg tablets, twice a day) for 4 weeksHeartburn and regurgitation frequency fell in both groups; larger falls in frequency and severity with amla than placebo (P &lt; 0.001)
Randomized controlled trial of amalaki in dyspepsia (1982) PMID 7185759Not availableNo abstract in PubMed; enrollment and results could not be retrieved
Narrative review of triphala&rsquo;s therapeutic uses (amla is one of three fruits) PMID 28696777VariousLists reduced hyperacidity among candidate uses; no amla-alone gut trials beyond those above
Comprehensive review of amla fruit: uses, composition, pharmacology, toxicology PMID 34480995VariousAnimal toxicology showed no adverse effect at high oral doses; authors note most studies lack dose standards

How much the studies and the texts used

The reflux trial used two 500 mg amla tablets twice a day, after meals, for 4 weeks; the abstract does not say whether the tablets held fruit powder or an extract. Traditionally the fruit is eaten fresh or dried, taken as juice, or ground into a powder (churna) and mixed into water, and it is also combined with its two partner fruits as triphala. The reviews we read say many earlier amla studies give no dose or standard for the extract used, so published doses are hard to compare across trials.

Doses here describe what studies and pharmacopoeias used. They are not a recommendation for any person; a clinician or pharmacist who knows your medicines and conditions is the right person to ask.

Side effects and cautions

The reflux trial’s abstract reports no adverse-event data. A comprehensive review of amla toxicology found no adverse effect at high oral doses in animal studies. We could not find pregnancy, breastfeeding or pediatric safety trials. Amla is also a food, which is different from concentrated tablets and extracts.

On contamination, a 2008 study of 193 Ayurvedic products sold online found 20.7% with detectable lead, mercury or arsenic, a rate that climbed to 40.6% in products made by the rasa shastra herb-plus-metal method. Plain fruit powders such as amla are not that class, and the study did not test amla by name.

Interactions

We found no human interaction studies for amla. Reviews also note that earlier amla studies often lack information on dose and standardization, which limits any statement about which preparations could interact. Reviews list blood-sugar-lowering effects in lab and animal work, which raises the question of an added effect with diabetes medicines; this has not been tested in people in the sources we read.

Medicines the quiz checks amla against

When a quiz taker names one of these medicines, the rule below fires. Each comes from a published interaction reference; none is a diagnosis:

Amla on the shelf: the products that contain it

The products here name amla among their actives. How much of it a serving holds, and whether that matches any trial, is on each page.

Organic India Triphala Capsules 4.4 out of 5 from 5,337 ratings from Amazon · $0.76 a day Planetary Herbals Triphala 1,000 mg Tablets 4.5 out of 5 from 2,416 ratings from Amazon · $0.37 per day at two tablets twice a day ($16.45 for 180 at Vitacost and Amazon); $0.18 a serving Banyan Botanicals Triphala Tablets 4.6 out of 5 from 2,123 ratings from Amazon · $0.51 per day at two tablets ($22.99 for 90 on the brand site, $21.99 on Amazon); $0.26 at the one-tablet low end of the label range NOW Foods Triphala 500 mg Tablets 4.6 out of 5 from 302 ratings from Amazon · $0.20 per day at two tablets ($12.24 for 120 at Amazon and Vitacost); $0.18 on Amazon Subscribe & Save Banyan Botanicals Pitta Digest 4.5 out of 5 from 199 ratings from Amazon · $0.62 per day at two tablets ($27.99 for 90 on the brand site; $29.99 on Amazon); the label allows one to two tablets once or twice a day, $0.31 to $1.24 Pure Indian Foods Organic Triphala Powder 4.82 out of 5 from 132 ratings from Vitacost · $0.08 per day at one half-teaspoon serving of about 1,300 mg ($14.16 for 8 oz at iHerb, $14.99 on the brand site, about 175 servings) Banyan Botanicals Vata Digest 4.6 out of 5 from 125 ratings from Amazon · $0.64 per day at two tablets ($28.99 for 90); the label allows one to two tablets once or twice a day, $0.32 to $1.29

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Often paired or compared

Ayurvedic Triphala Emblica officinalis + Terminalia bellirica + Terminalia chebula Ayurvedic Haritaki Terminalia chebula Ayurvedic Bibhitaki Terminalia bellirica (also spelled bellerica) Ayurvedic Guduchi Tinospora cordifolia

Questions people ask

Is amla the same as Indian gooseberry?

Yes. Amla, amalaki and Indian gooseberry all refer to the fruit of Emblica officinalis, also written Phyllanthus emblica. It is a sour berry, not related to the European gooseberry.

Does amla help acid reflux?

One placebo-controlled trial of 68 people with non-erosive reflux disease found larger drops in heartburn and regurgitation with 2 g a day of amla tablets than placebo over 4 weeks (P < 0.001). It was a single-site, 4-week study and the abstract gives no group averages. A 1982 trial in dyspepsia exists but its results could not be retrieved.

Why is amla called a rasayana?

Ayurveda uses rasayana for rejuvenating tonics said to build lasting health. The tradition classes amalaki, and the triphala formula that contains it, in that group. It is the tradition’s classification, not a trial outcome.

Is amla in triphala?

Yes. Triphala is amla plus bibhitaki and haritaki. Gut studies of triphala test all three fruits together, so they cannot show the effect of amla alone.

Do Ayurvedic powders contain lead?

Some Ayurvedic products do. In a 2008 study of 193 products sold online, 20.7% had detectable lead, mercury or arsenic, with the highest rate in rasa shastra products made with metals. The study did not single out amla.

Sources