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Pearl powder

Supplement mineral/animal derivative general nutrition
Aka: zhen zhu fen, nacre powder
Not medical advice. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before you start, stop or change the timing of anything you take.
How to use
What it’s for
Traditional skin and beauty use · one small human RCT
Studied for
The one RCT ran 8 weeks of daily use
Pros & cons
Pros
  • One 8-week RCT raised blood antioxidant capacity
  • Long traditional use in tcm for skin and beauty
Cons
  • The RCT had 20 people and measured blood markers
  • Mostly calcium carbonate — HSA caps calcium at 1200 mg
Sources
  1. Efficacy of protein rich pearl powder on antioxidant status in a randomized placebo-controlled trial (Chiu et al., J Food Drug Anal 2018) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “20 healthy middle-aged subjects were recruited … who received 3 g of pearl powder/d (n = 10) and 3 g of placebo/d (n = 10) for 8 weeks … showed a substantial increase (p < 0.05) in total antioxidant capacity”
  2. Pearl Powder — An Emerging Material for Biomedical Applications: A Review (Loh et al., Materials 2021) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Pearl powder is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine for a variety of indications from beauty care to healthcare … Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and magnesium carbonate are the primary ingredients of mollusc shells”
  3. HSA — Health Supplements Guidelines (Jan 2026), Tables 4–5 vitamin and mineral limits · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “HS for use by the general adult population should not contain vitamins and minerals exceeding the stipulated limits stated in Tables 4 and 5. … Table 5: Minerals Limits … Calcium 1200 mg”
  4. HSA — Guidelines on Prohibited and Restricted Ingredients in Health Supplements and Traditional Medicines (Oct 2025) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “The objective of this guideline is to highlight the substances of concern when used in HS and TM and is not meant to be an exhaustive list.”
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Updated 2026-08-29. Every line above traces to a numbered source. Kozen-X is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. It lists what published sources have written down — nothing more. A pair not listed is unrecorded, not cleared. Before you start, stop or re-time anything, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.