Ejiao (Donkey-hide Gelatin)
Colla Corii Asini · Ē Jiāo 阿胶
A 'blood-nourishing' gelatin — and a global welfare crisis.
Preliminary evidence
☯️TCM Herb
Evidence tier
Preliminary
Research weight
Citations
15 verified / 15
Classification
TCM Herb
❝
What the evidence says. Early or small human trials; promising but not yet conclusive.
What is Ejiao (Donkey-hide Gelatin)?
Ejiao (Donkey-hide Gelatin) (Colla Corii Asini · Ē Jiāo 阿胶) is a traditional Chinese medicine herb used for blood-building / anti-anemia. NutriDex grades the human evidence as Preliminary. Ejiao is a gelatin made by boiling donkey hides, classed in TCM as a blood tonic. Some research reports a hematopoietic (blood-cell-promoting) effect, and a clinical trial described improved dizziness and maintained red-cell counts — but rigorous human RCTs are scarce. Beyond efficacy questions, surging demand has driven a documented global animal-welfare crisis, decimating donkey populations.
Purported Benefits
✓(Claimed) blood-building / anti-anemia
✓(Claimed) eases dizziness & dry cough
✓(Claimed) skin & 'beauty' tonic
Evidence by outcome
The same supplement can be well-proven for one use and unproven for another — here is the human evidence graded outcome by outcome.
| Outcome | Evidence | Effect | Studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blood-building / anti-anemia (hemoglobin, red-cell counts)One placebo RCT in 210 women attenuated RBC/hematocrit decline; supporting meta-analyses are of multi-herb Ejiao formulas, not Ejiao alone, with low GRADE. | Preliminary | ↑ benefit | 3 |
| Eases dizziness / blood-deficiency symptomsSingle double-blind RCT (210 women, 6 g/day x8 wk) improved dizziness and SF-36 QoL; not independently replicated. | Preliminary | ↑ benefit · small | 1 |
| Chemotherapy-induced leukopenia (as compound formula)Meta-analysis of 28 RCTs raised WBC counts but tested Compound E'jiao Jiang (multi-ingredient), not pure Ejiao, with low GRADE certainty. | Mixed | ↑ benefit · moderate | 1 |
Dosing & Compounds
Typical Dose
Traditionally 3–9 g dissolved in warm liquid; few standardized human studies exist.
Active Compounds
Safety & Cautions
Gelatin itself is low-risk to consume. The major concern is ethical/ecological: the donkey-skin trade involves grave welfare problems and population collapse. Educational only — always check with your doctor or pharmacist before combining Ejiao (Donkey-hide Gelatin) with any medicine.
Key Studies ★ 15 studies
systematic review
Osteoporosis scoping review 2025
✓ PubMed
Scoping review of 22 studies (5 on Ejiao alone, 17 on Ejiao formulations) found emerging preclinical evidence of anti-osteoporotic/bone-protective effects, but flagged a lack of high-quality clinical trials.
Meta-analysis
Lu (Compound E'jiao Jiang) 2025
✓ PubMed
Systematic review/meta-analysis of 28 RCTs (2041 participants): Compound E'jiao Jiang for tumor/immune-disease leukopenia improved clinical efficacy (RR 1.17, 95% CI 1.08-1.27); added to Western medicine it raised WBC counts (MD 1.12, 95% CI 0.83-1.42), improved Karnofsky status (RR 1.39, 95% CI 1.25-1.55) and reduced bone-marrow toxicity (RR 0.61, 95% CI 0.54-0.69); GRADE evidence low.
Meta-analysis
Jeong (East Asian HM for pediatric IDA) 2024
✓ PubMed
Systematic review/meta-analysis of 28 RCTs of East Asian herbal medicine (including Ejiao-containing formulas) for iron-deficiency anemia in children/adolescents; herbal medicine, alone or added to oral iron, significantly improved hemoglobin, serum ferritin and total effective rate with fewer gastrointestinal adverse events and shorter healing times than oral iron alone (GRADE quality limited).
Meta-analysis
Li (Ejiao/Velvet antler fibroids) 2021
✓ PubMed
Systematic review/meta-analysis of 9 RCTs (844 patients): Ejiao/Velvet-antler herbal prescriptions plus mifepristone shrank uterine fibroids more than mifepristone alone (SMD 0.59, 95% CI 0.33-0.85), improved fibroid-related symptoms (RR 1.24, 95% CI 1.15-1.35) and lowered estradiol and progesterone, with fewer adverse events (RR 0.24, 95% CI 0.15-0.40).
agency action
African Union moratorium 2024
✓ Source
In February 2024 the African Union adopted a continent-wide moratorium banning slaughter of donkeys for skins, responding to ejiao demand of roughly 6 million skins/year and projected halving of Africa's ~27 million donkeys.
RCT
Zhang (Ejiao RCT) 2021
✓ PubMed
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 210 women with blood-deficient symptoms; Ejiao 6 g/day for 8 weeks significantly improved dizziness, attenuated the decline in hematocrit and red blood cell count seen in placebo, and raised SF-36 quality-of-life scores, with no significant adverse or fire-heat effects.
Clinical trial
Ejiao clinical trial
✓ Full text
Reported improved dizziness and maintained red-cell counts vs placebo (limited).
Observational
npj Science of Food 2025
✓ Full text
Preclinical (rat IDA model) study of donkey-hide gelatin hydrolysates reported a 44% increase in hemoglobin, normalized serum ferritin (25.34 ng/mL), and improved gut microbiota, supporting an iron-carrier mechanism; no human data.
review
Donkey skin trade legislation review 2022
✓ Full text
Review found the donkey skin (ejiao) trade frequently non-compliant with welfare, traceability and biosecurity legislation, posing zoonotic disease and animal-welfare risks across exporting and importing countries.
animal study
LMW peptides myelosuppression 2024
✓ Full text
In zebrafish and cyclophosphamide-treated mice, low-molecular-weight Ejiao peptides aided recovery of erythrocyte/blood-cell counts; two isolated peptides (PP-1, PP-2) reversed chemotherapy-induced cytopenia (preclinical).
animal study
Iron bioavailability gelatin hydrolysates 2025
✓ Source
Donkey-hide gelatin hydrolysates showed strong iron affinity and, in mice, improved iron bioavailability and modulated gut microbiota, supporting a mechanistic basis for anti-anemia effects (preclinical).
Mechanism
Pharmacology review 2025
✓ Source
Hematopoietic effects reported; high-quality human RCTs remain scarce.
journal-article
Adulteration marker peptides 2022
✓ PubMed
LC-MS/MS using 12 species-specific marker peptides detected cattle- and pig-hide gelatin adulterants in donkey-hide gelatin down to 0.1% (horse to 0.5%); of 18 commercial Ejiao batches tested, only 9 were authentic and 8 were suspected adulterated with horse materials.
magazine-article
Zoonotic pathogens in donkey skins 2022
✓ Source
Testing of 108 donkey skins from a Kenyan slaughterhouse feeding the Ejiao trade found 3 positive for African horse sickness and 44 positive for MRSA (including 3 toxin-producing virulent strains), providing first evidence that the unregulated skin trade can move zoonotic pathogens internationally.
Study
Welfare investigations
✓ Source
Demand has decimated global donkey populations; serious welfare concerns.