Ranked by evidence

Best supplements for inflammation

Inflammation covers everything from a blood marker like CRP to an arthritic knee, and no supplement has strong evidence for either. The picks below have moderate evidence for lowering inflammatory markers or easing osteoarthritis pain, ranked by how good that evidence is rather than by popularity. Marker changes are small, and whether they matter clinically is unproven.

Picks are ranked by the strength of published evidence for this goal in otherwise healthy adults. A persistent symptom needs a clinician's evaluation, and no supplement on this list replaces treatment.

Evidence last reviewed: September 2026

Solid options

Option	Evidence	Best for	The honest note
Propolis	Moderate evidence	lowering IL-6 and TNF-alpha	Pooling 20 trials with 1,139 participants, propolis lowered IL-6 and TNF-alpha, though CRP fell only in trials lasting 10 weeks or longer. Avoid it with a bee-product allergy.	View
Amla (Indian Gooseberry)	Moderate evidence	CRP alongside lipids and glucose	A meta-analysis found lower C-reactive protein along with better cholesterol and fasting glucose, though the trials were small and at high risk of bias. Choose single-ingredient products with heavy-metal testing.	View
Curcumin (Turmeric extract)	Moderate evidence	osteoarthritis pain	About 1,000 mg a day reduced arthritis pain versus placebo, sometimes comparably to NSAIDs. The broader anti-inflammatory claim is limited, and plain curcumin is very poorly absorbed.	View
Boswellia Serrata	Moderate evidence	knee pain and stiffness	AKBA-enriched extracts at 100–250 mg a day modestly ease knee osteoarthritis pain and stiffness, usually within 4 weeks. The trials are small and mostly manufacturer-funded.	View

Situational

Option	Evidence	Best for	The honest note
White Peony	Moderate evidence	rheumatoid arthritis, as TGP add-on	Only the standardised extract TGP, added to DMARDs, has moderate support in rheumatoid arthritis, mainly for tolerability. Ordinary white peony capsules are not the studied product.	View
Krill Oil	Moderate evidence	knee osteoarthritis pain	At 4 g a day it reduced knee pain in trials, but the effect was small and the evidence is dominated by industry funding. Avoid it with shellfish or crustacean allergy.	View
Green-Lipped Mussel	Moderate evidence	osteoarthritis, if shellfish is fine	Several small trials show modest gains in osteoarthritis pain and function, while others are null. Contraindicated in shellfish allergy, and rare hepatotoxicity has been reported.	View

Popular for this goal — but the evidence says skip

Serrapeptase Limited evidence
Japan withdrew it in 2011 after post-marketing trials failed to show efficacy, and its NSAID-like claims rest on old, unblinded dental studies.
Systemic Enzyme Formulas Limited evidence
A review of 24 clinical studies found the anti-inflammatory case for serratiopeptidase rests on poor methodology, and intact absorption is not established.
Bromelain Limited evidence
The trials are small, mostly low quality and often of enzyme combinations, and the claims for chronic inflammation rest on cell and animal work.
Ginger Moderate evidence
Its effect on knee osteoarthritis pain was small and below the threshold for a clinically important difference, so its anti-inflammatory reputation is overstated.
White Willow Bark Moderate evidence
The best-conducted osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis trials found no benefit over placebo; its real evidence is for short-term low back pain.
Noni Limited evidence
No trial is large or controlled enough to support an anti-inflammatory claim, and case reports link it to acute hepatitis.

Our verdict

For a measurable effect on markers, propolis and amla have the best pooled data; for inflammatory joint pain, curcumin in an enhanced-absorption form or boswellia is the pick. Skip serrapeptase and systemic enzyme blends, whose anti-inflammatory claims rest on poor studies, and do not count on ginger or willow bark for arthritis.