About Poria cocos
A fungus (sclerotium) used in traditional Chinese medicine, usually within multi-herb formulas for fluid balance and sleep. Contains triterpenes and polysaccharides with activity in lab and animal models; standalone controlled human evidence is minimal.
What Poria cocos supports
- Traditional use in fluid-balance and calming formulas; little standalone clinical data
How much Poria cocos to take
The RDA prevents deficiency. The effective range is what clinical trials used to actually move the outcome.
Effective
500–3000
mg
No established therapeutic dose in Western trials; nominal range reflecting traditional decoction/extract use. Almost always a component of multi-herb TCM formulas.
Clinical evidence
Limited clinical evidence. Traditional/mechanistic; essentially no standalone RCTs.