Pangolin Scales
Chuān Shān Jiǎ 穿山甲
Trafficked keratin with no medicinal value.
Evidence tier
No Evidence
Research weight
Not supported
Citations
17 verified / 17
Classification
Banned & Harmful
⊘
What the evidence says. No credible human evidence supports the marketed claims — widely considered ineffective.
⚠
Health warning. Pangolin scales are keratin (like fingernails) with no proven medicinal value. Pangolins are the world's most-trafficked mammal and critically endangered — the trade is illegal and drives extinction.
What is Pangolin Scales?
Pangolin Scales (Chuān Shān Jiǎ 穿山甲) is a banned or harmful substance marketed for promotes lactation, eases 'blood stasis' & rheumatism. NutriDex grades the human evidence as No Evidence. Pangolin scales are made of keratin — the same protein as human fingernails — and ingested keratin is not absorbed; it passes through largely unchanged. There is no credible evidence for the traditional lactation, circulation or rheumatism claims. Pangolins are the most-trafficked mammals on earth, with species listed critically endangered, and the trade is illegal.
Marketed Claims (unproven)
✕(Claimed) promotes lactation, eases 'blood stasis' & rheumatism
Dosing & Compounds
Use & Legality
No legitimate use — illegal and without medicinal value.
Active Compounds
Safety & Cautions
⚠ No benefit and illegal. Buying pangolin products is a wildlife crime fueling the extinction of the world's most-trafficked mammal. Educational only — always check with your doctor or pharmacist before combining Pangolin Scales with any medicine.
Evidence & Risk Findings ★ 17 studies
Systematic review
Wang et al. (Squama Manitis systematic review) 2020
✓ PubMed
Systematic review of 15 studies (only 4 RCTs, none double-blinded) of pangolin scale (Squama Manitis). RCTs suggested possible benefit for postpartum hypogalactia and mesenteric lymphadenitis only as add-ons to herbs/antibiotics, inconclusive for breast hyperplasia; all studies had high risk of bias, small samples, and publication bias. Concluded current evidence CANNOT support clinical use and recommended restricting use, consistent with removal from the 2020 Chinese Pharmacopoeia.
regulatory
Regulation 2025
✓ Source
China's updated pharmacopoeia (effective Oct 1, 2025) delisted raw pangolin scales and all 13 remaining approved TCM formulas containing them, extending the partial 2020 removal toward a full pharmacopoeial ban.
regulatory
US ESA listing 2025
✓ Source
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed (Federal Register, June 17, 2025) to list seven pangolin species (four Asian, three African) as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, citing trafficking, habitat loss and poor genetic health; if finalized it would bar U.S. import and sale of pangolins and their parts.
regulatory
CITES ban 2016
✓ Source
At CITES CoP17 (Sept 2016) all eight pangolin species were uplisted to Appendix I by near-unanimous vote, prohibiting all commercial international trade effective Jan 2017.
Guideline
Composition
✓ Source
Scales are keratin; ingested keratin isn't absorbed — no medicinal basis.
Review
Reviews 2025
✓ Full text
No credible evidence for lactation/rheumatism claims.
review
Review 2025
✓ Full text
Narrative review concludes pangolin scales (keratin) are used across African and Asian traditional medicine for lactation, rheumatism and skin conditions despite no pharmacological basis, and that demand drives the species' status as the world's most-trafficked mammal.
Review
Traditional Medicine and the Pangolin Trade review (Diversity) 2024
✓ Source
Review of TCM drivers of the pangolin trade documents that scales are ~100% keratin (same protein as fingernails) with no demonstrated mechanism of benefit, that human digestion lacks keratinases to break disulfide bonds, and that all 8 species are CITES Appendix I; notes China's 2020 removal of pangolin scales from the Pharmacopoeia. Concludes purported medicinal value is unsupported and drives extinction risk.
Observational
Serological sarbecovirus study 2024
✓ Full text
Serological evidence of sarbecovirus (SARS-CoV-2-related) exposure was found in Sunda pangolins along trafficking pathways, supporting that the pangolin trade carries documented coronavirus exposure risk to handled animals and humans.
Observational
Lam et al. 2020 (Nature)
✓ PubMed
SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses were isolated from smuggled Malayan pangolins, sharing 85.5-92.4% genome identity with SARS-CoV-2, highlighting zoonotic transmission risk from the pangolin trade.
Observational
Nga et al. 2022
✓ Full text
SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses were detected in Sunda pangolins (Manis javanica) confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade in Viet Nam, indicating pangolin trafficking poses a clear risk for transmission of viruses with zoonotic and epizootic potential.
report
Trafficking 2025
✓ Source
Wildlife Justice Commission analysis found over 370 metric tons of pangolin scales seized 2015-2024, with 2024 large-seizure numbers ~84% below the 2019 peak and no major seaport scale seizures for three years, indicating disrupted supply chains.
primary
Zoonosis 2020
✓ PubMed
Nature study (Lam et al.) identified SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses in Malayan pangolins (Manis javanica) seized from anti-smuggling operations in southern China, with one viral sub-lineage showing strong receptor-binding-domain similarity to SARS-CoV-2, implicating trafficked pangolins as a zoonotic reservoir.
Mechanism
Yang et al. 2020 (vinegar-processed pangolin scale, RA rat model)
✓ PubMed
Pre-clinical study (Freund's-adjuvant rheumatoid-arthritis rat model) reporting that a novel vinegar-processed pangolin-scale formulation reduced paw swelling and inflammatory markers comparably to meloxicam. Animal-only proof-of-concept with no human data; provides no validated human efficacy and underscores the absence of clinical trials.
Study
Trade data
✓ Source
Most-trafficked mammal; ~195,000 trafficked in 2019; species critically endangered.
primary
Tramadol myth 2019
✓ Full text
Forensic chemical analysis of scales from 104 individual pangolins spanning all eight extant species detected no tramadol in any specimen, debunking the popular claim that keratinous pangolin scales naturally contain the analgesic.
assessment
IUCN status
✓ Source
The Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) is classified Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, driven by exploitation, with an estimated 200,000 individuals illegally traded in the prior decade and a continuing population decline.