Cholacol Review: Ingredients, Cost & Does It Work?

Cholacol markets itself as an essential dietary supplement for healthy fat digestion, built around purified bovine bile salts, with claims of supporting gallbladder function too. While the gallbladder isn’t strictly essential to survival, it plays a meaningful role in digestion for most healthy people.

Given the gallbladder’s role in fat digestion, our research team focused on how Cholacol’s ingredients affect overall health and wellness. We started with the benefits and potential side effects of each ingredient, gathered the relevant supporting research, and compiled our findings into this review.

What Is Cholacol?

Cholacol is a gluten-free fat-digestion supplement from Standard Process, a company holding an “A+” BBB rating with no recorded customer complaints since its 2020 accreditation. Marketed claims include supporting enzymes that help break down fats, supporting fat metabolism and absorption, and promoting natural intestinal cleansing, with nutrients sourced from both animal and plant sources, tested by on-site chemists and microbiologists.

What does independent research say about the core ingredients? Bovine bile salts show some support for certain pancreatic processes, though evidence for broader benefits is limited, according to research in Structure. Hepatology notes bile salts may benefit liver function in certain patients. And while historical references in the British Medical Journal suggest collinsonia canadensis may support colon health, modern research on the ingredient remains sparse.

Who Makes Cholacol?

Standard Process, founded in 1929, operates around five core values: Person (supporting employee and customer wellbeing), Product (prioritizing whole food concentrates and herbs), Process (maintaining quality from farm to shipment), Planet (environmentally responsible practices), and Posterity (building for future generations).

Founder Dr. Royal Lee took a holistic approach to supplement design, aiming to deliver nutrients without separating them from their natural synergists — a philosophy intended to improve overall bioavailability.

Customer Service Contact Information

Address: Standard Process Inc., 1200 W. Royal Lee Drive, Palmyra, WI 53156. Phone: 800-848-5061 (toll-free) or 262-495-2122 (local). Orders: 800-558-8740.

Return Policy

Returns require a Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA), obtained by calling Customer Care within 30 days of the order date with the product name, invoice number, reason for return, and “Best Used By” date. Unopened returns must be in original packaging, and a 20% processing fee applies to all returns.

Why Use Cholacol?

Cholacol’s value proposition centers on gallbladder support. According to Informed Health, the gallbladder stores bile — a greenish-brown fluid produced by the liver — releasing it into the small intestine when fat intake increases, kicking off the first stage of fat digestion before absorption occurs later in the process. Even when the gallbladder isn’t functioning optimally, the liver keeps producing bile, which is where Cholacol’s two core ingredients, collinsonia root and purified bovine bile salts, come in — working together to support intestinal absorption and fat metabolism.

Cholacol Benefits

Claimed benefits include supporting healthy fat digestion and nutrient absorption, reducing gastric discomfort, stimulating gallbladder function, and delivering nutrients from both plant and animal sources. The formula is designed to encourage gallbladder contraction, promoting bile release and supporting fat breakdown while helping reduce bloating and post-meal fullness.

Cholacol Ingredients

A proprietary blend of collinsonia root and purified bovine bile salts.

Collinsonia Root

A traditional herb used to support digestion, bladder, and kidney function. Research published in the British Medical Journal documented its use for supporting a healthy digestive system and easing chronic gastritis or indigestion.

Purified Bovine Bile Salts

A concentrated bile salt source that plays a role in fat absorption and digestion, according to PubChem. Frontiers in Medicine notes bile salts act as “antibacterial agents… control the structure of the intestinal microbiome… and play a role in intestinal homeostasis,” while the journal Structure highlights that “bile salt-activated lipase (BAL), possesses unique activities for digesting different kinds of lipids.”

What Makes Cholacol Unique?

Standard Process points to Cholacol’s 700mg proprietary blend of collinsonia root and purified bovine bile salts as its differentiator, delivering “whole foods in a convenient form.” The bovine-derived bile salts are sourced to support the human gallbladder and fat metabolism, while collinsonia root supports liver function, with the surrounding vitamins and minerals working alongside them. In keeping with the company’s “Process” value, ingredients aren’t isolated during manufacturing, which the company says helps preserve nutritional integrity — backed by on-site chemists and microbiologists conducting analytical and bacterial testing.

Potential Cholacol Side Effects

While user feedback doesn’t flag major issues, some side effects are possible given the ingredients, including concerns tied to iron intake — a study in the Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine found that excessive iron consumption can be genuinely harmful to health.

Bovine Bile Salts

The NIH’s LiverTox database notes adverse effects are mainly a concern for those with existing medical conditions. The Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology lists possible bile salt side effects including constipation, nausea, flatulence, bloating, and abdominal pain.

Where to Buy Cholacol

The official website doesn’t sell Cholacol directly — instead, a “How to Order” tool locates a nearby healthcare professional who carries it. It’s also available at select Walgreens locations and through Amazon.

What Is the Cost of Cholacol?

On Amazon, pricing runs around $18.

How to Take Cholacol

Cholacol II vs. Cholacol

Cholacol II, now rebranded as Gastrex, differs from the original — it’s a natural cleansing supplement rather than a fat-digestion formula, built from a proprietary blend of bentonite (415mg), collinsonia (15mg), and purified bovine bile salts (7mg). It’s marketed to promote intestinal health and encourage regularity, and while it isn’t sold on the official Standard Process site, it’s available through Amazon.

Lawsuit

Standard Process filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against The Antitrend, LLC, its owner Daniel Earle, and 100 John Doe defendants, alleging unauthorized sales of its products on Amazon that undermined the company’s quality controls, confused consumers, and harmed its business.

The Bottom Line on Cholacol

Cholacol offers a proprietary blend of collinsonia root and purified bovine bile salts marketed for fat-digestion support, and it also contains iron worth being aware of. The benefits center on supporting healthy fat digestion and enzyme function, backed by a reasonable amount of underlying ingredient research, though as with any digestive supplement, it works best as a complement to — not a replacement for — a genuinely balanced diet.

Explore more Diet Supplement reviews and guides on our site.

For general guidance on healthy weight management, see the resources available from Mayo Clinic.