Ingredients: All Categories

Every category of supplement ingredient in our database: the key nutrients plus botanicals, herbs and more. Select a category to open the table of its ingredients.

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Ingredient names that have an article open it when selected (we are adding articles over time). Inside an opened category you will find links to the articles on its type and category, and to the products that list any of the ingredients in its table as a main ingredient (inside the Supplement Facts panel). Select a related tag to move the matching categories to the top (select it again to restore the order).

Key nutrients are the ingredients most often used as the main ingredients of supplements worldwide, selected by us: vitamins and minerals, fatty acids such as omega-3, amino acids such as BCAAs, CoQ10, carotenoids such as lutein and astaxanthin, polyphenols such as curcumin, herbs such as ashwagandha, probiotics, enzymes, mushrooms and more. Probiotics, enzymes and mushrooms, which the ingredient classification splits by type, are combined into one row each here. Everything else is on the “All categories” page.

Ingredient rows are mainly those identified by a UNII (unique ingredient identifier). Under the key nutrients we also list ingredient names without a UNII when at least 100 products use them as a main ingredient. Spellings that differ only in punctuation, spacing or plural form (such as Coenzyme Q-10 and Coenzyme Q10) are treated as one name. Abbreviations and alternative names (CoQ10, DHA and so on) stay as separate rows. The product list filtered by an ingredient counts every spelling under the same identifier (Cobalamin and Vitamin B12, for example). A row with an identifier is named after the spelling used on the most products under that identifier (except where we have given the ingredient a name ourselves).

Type tags (vitamins, minerals and so on) come from the ingredient classification. The other related tags are based on the wording approved for Foods with Nutrient Function Claims under Japan’s Food Labeling Standards (English is our reference translation) and cover only vitamins, minerals and n-3 fatty acids. They describe what foods meeting the required amounts may state on the label, not the effects of any product listed on this site.

For nutrient and compound categories, “Role” in the ingredient tables puts each ingredient into one of four groups. “Nutrient” is the name of the nutrient itself with no form stated (in categories that group related nutrients, such as omega-3 fatty acids, each member). “Form” is a salt, ester, coenzyme form and so on that counts directly toward the amount of the nutrient. “Related” is a compound of the same family that is counted differently or not counted. “Source” is a raw material that contains the nutrient (fish liver oil, algae, plants and so on); these rows are hidden at first and appear when you tick “Show source materials” above the table (the hidden sources are named there too). “Type” is the chemical class, such as the kind of salt or ester. Conversion and upper limit are shown for “Nutrient” and “Related” rows; “Form” rows say “Same as Nutrient” (sources show “—” because they also contain other nutrients). Where the category is itself a raw material, such as a plant, mushroom, microbe or enzyme, there is no role; “Type” shows the kind of material instead (whole or extract, the group of bacteria, what the enzyme breaks down), and rows are grouped by species, mushroom or enzyme. “Other enzymes” are enzymes not used as digestive enzymes, such as nattokinase and catalase. Ingredients are listed by role and, within a role, by the number of products that state them in the Supplement Facts panel (ingredients that mainly belong to another category come last; abbreviations and other names sit next to the row of the same substance). Roles and types are assigned by us from ingredient names and classes; check the product label for how a specific product treats an ingredient.

Ingredient tables for key nutrients show points to compare when choosing (conversion, upper limit, origin, elemental % and so on), chosen per category. Points that are the same for every ingredient are listed above the table. This is general information assigned automatically from ingredient names and classes; check the product label for the actual source, allergens and amounts. Origin is shown as “class/source” and gives the typical sources of each ingredient (where several are listed, it varies by product). The classes are animal, plant, algae, fungi & fermentation, mineral and synthetic; “mineral” means inorganic compounds made from mineral raw materials, and “synthetic” means chemically produced compounds, including organic salts and chelates of minerals. Upper limit is the tolerable upper intake level for adults (18 and over) in Japan’s Dietary Reference Intakes (2025), not the US values; where a range is shown it differs by sex and age (children have different values). The source is linked above each category’s table. Elemental % is calculated from the chemical formula. Salts usually sold as hydrates are shown as a range from the hydrate to the anhydrous form; other values are for the anhydrous form. The strain is the code after the name of the bacterium (such as “GG” or “HN001”); “Not stated (species only)” means the label gives the species but no strain.

Units and equivalents in the descriptions are based on US FDA and NIH resources. Nutrients and ingredient classes are assigned automatically from ingredient names. For some categories, mainly vitamins and minerals, the description gives only what sets that ingredient apart (a dash means nothing specific is noted). Statements about absorption come from US NIH fact sheets, linked above each table, and do not describe the effects of any product listed on this site. Elsewhere, descriptions other than those written individually are generated from the ingredient classification.

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