Shark cartilage: Evidence, Trial Doses & Interactions

About Shark cartilage

Dried and powdered cartilage from shark skeletons, sold in capsules or as a standardised liquid extract. Two purified preparations were developed as investigational cancer drugs and tested in randomised trials.

Shark cartilage is the clearest example in this catalogue of a claim that was tested properly and failed. It was promoted from the early 1990s on the premise that sharks do not develop cancer and that anti-angiogenic factors in their cartilage could stop tumour blood vessel growth. The premise was false — sharks do develop tumours, including cartilage tumours — and the intervention was then put through proper trials. A randomised study of shark cartilage in advanced breast and colorectal cancer found no improvement in survival or quality of life, and a phase III trial of the standardised extract AE-941 alongside chemoradiotherapy in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer likewise found no survival benefit. Meanwhile demand contributed to pressure on shark populations that are among the most threatened groups of marine vertebrates.

Sold as

Capsule, Powder, Liquid extract (investigational preparations)

Standardised to

Generic powder is unstandardised; the investigational products were defined liquid extracts not available commercially — a product without this marker may not resemble what was studied.

Also known as

Squalamine-free cartilage powder, BeneFin, Neovastat, AE-941

Regulation: Sold as a dietary supplement in the US with no pre-market efficacy review. US regulators have taken enforcement action against companies making cancer claims for shark cartilage. Several shark species are listed under CITES, and shark fisheries are subject to trade controls in many jurisdictions.

What the research used

The amounts, forms and durations published trials of Shark cartilage actually administered.

These are the amounts published trials administered — not a recommendation, and not a dose to copy. Trial participants were screened, supervised and given a characterised preparation. What is in a retail bottle is frequently not what was studied, and the amount that suits one person is not general advice.

Studied for Advanced cancer trial
80–120 g
Moderate
Shark cartilage powder in suspension, daily divided doses · Until progression
The dose in the randomised trial in advanced breast and colorectal cancer. It found no benefit in survival or quality of life, and the volume of powder involved was itself a significant burden for participants.
Studied for Standardised extract in lung cancer
120 mL
Moderate
AE-941 liquid extract, twice daily with chemoradiotherapy
The phase III protocol in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer, which found no improvement in overall survival. The extract is not a commercial supplement.

This is general information about food, not medical advice. It cannot diagnose, treat or replace guidance from a clinician who knows your history.

When it was taken

Each window says whether a trial compared it against an alternative, or whether it is convention and pharmacology. Most timing advice is the second kind.

None of the timings below were directly compared in a trial. They reflect how the research happened to dose, or what the pharmacology implies — which is not the same as a timing being better.

Any time
Not enough
Trials used divided daily dosing for tolerability of large powder volumes. No timing question has been studied and none is relevant given the results.
Timing was not directly compared. This reflects convention or how the compound behaves in the body, not a trial showing this window works better.

DNA and cellular integrity

Cellular Health

Not enough evidence

This claim has been tested and did not hold. Randomised trials of shark cartilage in advanced cancer, and of the standardised extract alongside chemoradiotherapy in lung cancer, found no improvement in survival or quality of life. The founding premise that sharks do not develop cancer is also incorrect.

What may be going on: Cartilage contains anti-angiogenic proteins that inhibit blood vessel growth in laboratory assays. Large structural proteins are digested when swallowed, which is the most likely reason the clinical results were null.

Not enough evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

View the 4 sources

Evaluation of shark cartilage in patients with advanced cancer: a North Central Cancer Treatment Group trial.(opens in a new tab)
Randomised controlled trial · Cancer · 2005 · PMID 15912493
Neovastat (AE-941), an inhibitor of angiogenesis: Randomized phase I/II clinical trial results in patients with plaque psoriasis.(opens in a new tab)
Randomised controlled trial · Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology · 2002 · PMID 12271297
Antiangiogenic effects of the oral administration of liquid cartilage extract in humans.(opens in a new tab)
Randomised controlled trial · The Journal of surgical research · 1999 · PMID 10527711
Prognostic factors of metastatic renal cell carcinoma after failure of immunotherapy: new paradigm from a large phase III trial with shark cartilage extract AE 941.(opens in a new tab)
Randomised controlled trial · The Journal of urology · 2007 · PMID 17868728

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Joint comfort

Joint Health

Not enough evidence

Shark cartilage is sometimes sold as a chondroitin source for joints. It has not been tested for joint outcomes in its own right, and purified chondroitin from other species is the studied material.

Not enough evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

No source is attached to this association yet, so it is rated not enough evidenceby default. It is listed because people commonly ask about it — not because there is evidence for it.

Things to know

Interactions, contraindications and dose limits, most serious first. Concentrated extracts interact with medication in ways the whole plant does not, so this section carries more weight here than it does on a food page.

Worth knowing
The cancer trials were negative
This is not an untested product. It went through randomised controlled trials, including a phase III study, and did not improve survival or quality of life in advanced cancer. Anyone offered it as a cancer therapy is being offered something that has already failed the test, and delaying effective treatment for it carries real cost.
Worth knowing
Conservation
Sharks are among the most threatened groups of marine vertebrates, they reproduce slowly, and cartilage demand added to fishing pressure on populations already depleted by finning and bycatch. Several species are CITES-listed and trade-restricted.
Too much
Large doses are poorly tolerated
The trial doses involved substantial volumes of powder and produced nausea, vomiting, taste disturbance and constipation. Case reports also describe hepatitis associated with shark cartilage supplementation.
Worth knowing
Contaminants in marine cartilage
Sharks are long-lived apex predators that accumulate mercury and other contaminants, and cyanobacterial toxins have been reported in shark tissue. Calcium content is also high enough to matter at the doses once recommended.
Avoid
Not in pregnancy, childhood or recovery from surgery
Anti-angiogenic activity is theoretically unwelcome where new blood vessel growth is needed, including in wound recovery, pregnancy and childhood development. There is no safety data in these groups.

Shark cartilage

What shark cartilage may help with

About Shark cartilage

What the research used

When it was taken

Any time

The evidence in depth

DNA and cellular integrity

Joint comfort

Things to know

The cancer trials were negative

Conservation

Large doses are poorly tolerated

Contaminants in marine cartilage

Not in pregnancy, childhood or recovery from surgery

What shark cartilage may help with

About Shark cartilage

What the research used

When it was taken

🕐Any time

The evidence in depth

DNA and cellular integrity

Joint comfort

Things to know

The cancer trials were negative

Conservation

Large doses are poorly tolerated

Contaminants in marine cartilage

Not in pregnancy, childhood or recovery from surgery

Any time