Guide
How much forskolin (Coleus forskohlii) should you take a day?
There's no official recommended dose for forskolin. The only two placebo-controlled human trials on body composition both used 250 mg of a 10% extract, twice a day — and commercial labels vary in both milligram amount and standardization percentage.
There's no official recommended dose of forskolin, unlike vitamins and minerals with a government-set intake range. What exists instead is a narrow, consistent data point: the only two placebo-controlled human trials on body composition both used the same amount — 250 mg of a 10%-standardized extract, twice a day.
What the trials actually used
A 2005 trial in 30 overweight or obese men and a separate 2005 trial in mildly overweight women both used an identical protocol: 250 mg of a Coleus forskohlii extract standardized to 10% forskolin, taken twice a day, for 12 weeks — 500 mg of extract, or roughly 50 mg of forskolin itself, per day (PMID 16129715, PMID 18500958). That's the only human dosing data on body composition that exists; no trial has tested a higher or lower amount against it. See forskolin benefits: what the research does and doesn't show for what that dose did and didn't find in each trial.
Why the standardization percentage matters as much as the milligram number
A label listing "500 mg of Coleus forskohlii extract" doesn't tell you how much forskolin is actually inside unless it also states a standardization percentage. Extract standardized to 10% forskolin contains about ten times as much active compound, milligram for milligram, as one standardized to 1%. The trials referenced above used a 10% standardization; a product without a stated percentage, or standardized differently, isn't necessarily delivering a comparable amount of forskolin even if the total extract weight on the label looks similar. See how to choose a good forskolin for reading a label with this in mind.
Is there a maximum, or a dose that's "too much"?
Forskolin doesn't have an established upper intake level the way magnesium or vitamin D do — no government body has set one, and no trial we found tested a dose-response relationship to identify where more forskolin stops adding any effect or starts adding risk. The highest amount used in the placebo-controlled trials reviewed here was 500 mg of extract (50 mg forskolin) a day; a higher number on a label isn't evidence of anything beyond what's printed on it.
Dosing for eye pressure or glaucoma
There's no established oral dose for eye pressure, because the research on forskolin and eye pressure didn't use an oral capsule at all — it used a liquid suspension applied directly to the eye as drops, and it wasn't tested in people who have glaucoma (PMID 6132271). A milligram amount from an oral capsule label doesn't translate to that research in any way this page can quantify. See forskolin benefits: what the research does and doesn't show for that research in full.
Dosing by body weight, and questions about pets
This page and its citations cover forskolin as a human oral supplement. None of the research here was conducted in animals, and scaling a human supplement label down for a pet isn't something a veterinarian would recommend doing without guidance. Ask a veterinarian for advice specific to an animal.
Questions people ask
How much forskolin per day?
The only human trials on body composition used 500 mg of a 10% extract a day (250 mg twice a day). That's the one dose with any placebo-controlled human data behind it — not necessarily the "right" amount, just the one that's actually been tested.
How much forskolin should I take daily?
Following the directions on whatever product you're using, and checking with a pharmacist if you're unsure, is more reliable than pulling a number from the two trials referenced here, since neither tested a range of doses against each other.
Is forskolin 500 mg too much?
500 mg of extract a day is the amount used in both existing placebo-controlled trials, so it sits within what's actually been studied — assuming that figure refers to total extract, not forskolin content alone, which depends on the standardization percentage.
What is the right forskolin dosage for glaucoma?
There isn't one established from oral-capsule research. The eye-pressure research used topical drops, not a swallowed dose, and wasn't conducted in people with glaucoma — an oral capsule dosage doesn't translate to that entirely different form and route.
How much forskolin for dogs?
This page covers human dosing research only. Ask a veterinarian before giving forskolin to a dog or any other pet.
Related reading: what is forskolin? A plain guide, when is the best time to take forskolin?, and how to choose a good forskolin.
Sources
- Body composition and hormonal adaptations associated with forskolin consumption in overweight and obese men A 2005 trial in 30 overweight or obese men used 250 mg of a 10% forskolin extract, twice a day, for 12 weeks — the standardization and dose referenced elsewhere on this site.
- Effects of coleus forskohlii supplementation on body composition and hematological profiles in mildly overweight women A 2005 trial in mildly overweight women used the identical extract and dose as the men's trial: 250 mg of a 10% forskolin extract, twice a day, for 12 weeks.
- Forskolin lowers intraocular pressure in rabbits, monkeys, and man A 1983 study found a single topical 1% forskolin eye-drop suspension significantly lowered intraocular pressure for several hours in healthy volunteers without eye disease — a liquid applied directly to the eye, not the oral capsules sold as a supplement.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.