Forskolin (Coleus forskohlii) for Cardiovascular Disease
There is no reliable evidence that oral forskolin (Coleus forskohlii) supplements prevent or treat cardiovascular disease, and because the compound can lower blood pressure and may interact with heart and blood-thinning medications, it warrants caution rather than use.
Why this grade7-layer evidence engine
The human evidence is thin and does not test the product consumers actually buy. The only oral-supplement trial, a 12-week double-blind RCT in 30 overweight men (PMID 16557016), found no significant change in blood pressure or heart rate versus placebo, and its real endpoint was body composition rather than heart disease. Examine.com has no dedicated cardiovascular entry for forskolin, mirroring how sparse the data are.
The seemingly positive cardiovascular findings come from forms unrelated to a pill. An animal study (PMID 2530974) showed cAMP-driven contractility and vasodilation; a tiny uncontrolled 7-patient study used intravenous infusion in heart-failure patients (PMID 1696672); an inhaled-asthma trial saw no meaningful blood-pressure effect (PMID 8422745); and the Japanese drug colforsin daropate (PMID 10511949) is an injectable hospital derivative, not oral forskolin. None of these can be extrapolated to a chronic oral supplement.
Regulators and clinicians give no endorsement, which supports the Unverified grade and safety-review status. The US FDA has issued warning letters rejecting blood-pressure claims for forskolin-containing products, EFSA does not back its health claims, and the NHS, WHO, NIH ODS, Mayo, Cleveland Clinic, Harvard and AHA/ACC do not list it for cardiovascular use. Combined with its potential to add to the effects of antihypertensives and antiplatelet or anticoagulant drugs, this points to no benefit plus a genuine safety caution.
Scoring transparency
All scores computed by a 7-layer evidence engine — fully auditable▸View the full decision path (audit trail)
- compute_raw_score — 加權公式: L2×0.30 + L3×0.25 + L5×0.25 + L11×0.10 + L1×0.10 = 0.387
- tier_from_score — 依分數區間映射至 tier letter
- apply_hec_rules — 無高階證據可裁決
- tier_strict_requirement_check — D 級條件未達 (需 E1-E3 negative；實際 E6)
- detect_disputes — 偵測到 0 個 hard + 0 個 soft dispute
- decide_status — 依 tier + dispute 結果決定 status