Chromium
Of 8,104 on-market chromium products in the January 2026 DSLD dump, the median declared dose is 100 elemental mcg, and 36.6% list unspecified/undisclosed form as the primary form.
Form share
Of 7,773 products with an identifiable primary form, here is the share held by each form of Chromium on the market today.
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| Form | Quality tier | n | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| unspecified/undisclosed form | Unrated | 2,847 | 36.6% |
| Chromium Picolinate | Tier 1 | 1,909 | 24.6% |
| Chromium Polynicotinate | Tier 2 | 1,211 | 15.6% |
| Chromium Chloride | Tier 3 | 700 | 9.0% |
| Chromium Nicotinate Glycinate Chelate | Unrated | 661 | 8.5% |
| Chromium Amino Acid Chelate | Unrated | 445 | 5.7% |
Form share over time
Entry-year breakdown of the top forms, 2012–2025.
Dose distribution
Deciles of declared dose per serving (elemental mcg), among 7,736 products with a disclosed amount, against the RDA of 35.
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- 23.8% of products fall below the fairy-dust threshold (40 mcg, 20% of the studied low dose).
- 1.6% of products don't disclose an amount because Chromium is declared inside a proprietary blend.
Where does your dose rank?
Enter a per-serving dose (elemental mcg) to see exactly how it compares to the 7,735 on-market chromium products with a disclosed amount. The chart above groups doses into deciles; this looks up the exact percentile for one number.
By dosage form
By target group
Top brands
Search interest over time
How often people search for chromium on Google, US only, the last 5 years. This is public interest, not DSLD label data — a spike here doesn't necessarily line up with anything on this page, and Google's own index (100 = that term's peak popularity in the chosen window) is relative, not an absolute search-volume count.
Or see this search directly on trends.google.com.
Forms explained
Label discloses only "Chromium" with no salt form.
Elemental fraction: 12.4% (Cr(C6H4NO2)3, anhydrous, MW 418.3)
Produced significantly higher 24h urinary Cr than chloride/nicotinate forms in a randomized crossover; the form used in the positive Anderson 1997 glycemic-control RCT.
Source: DiSilvestro RA, Dy E. 2007, J Trace Elem Med Biol 21(2):120-4, PMID 17499152; Anderson RA et al. 1997, PMID 9356027
Elemental fraction: 19.5% (CrCl3 x 6H2O, hexahydrate (commercially/laboratory-standard soluble form; anhydrous CrCl3 at 0.328 is a poorly-soluble solid rarely used directly -- flagged assumption))
Produced significantly lower 24h urinary Cr than picolinate in the same crossover study -- cheapest/most common multivitamin form but weakest absorption signal. Chloride was tested as a component of a multivitamin-mineral product, with urinary Cr as an indirect measure of absorption.
Source: DiSilvestro RA, Dy E. 2007, PMID 17499152
Picolinate produced higher urinary Cr than two nicotinate supplements and than chloride in the comparative study; its abstract does not rank nicotinate against chloride, and the branded polynicotinate complex was not necessarily one of the products tested.
Source: DiSilvestro RA, Dy E. 2007, PMID 17499152 (form-class evidence, not this specific branded complex)
No dedicated bioavailability study on this specific named complex was located.
Source: none found -- insufficient evidence
No dedicated human or animal comparative bioavailability study for this named complex was located.
Source: none found -- insufficient evidence
Reference values
- RDA (adult): 35 elemental mcg — Adequate Intake, no RDA established: 35mcg (men 19-50, 30mcg 51+); 25mcg (women 19-50, 20mcg 51+)
- Tolerable Upper Intake Level (adult): not established — Not established -- insufficient evidence of adverse effects from excess intake
- Studied clinical dose range: 200–1000 mcg
- Anderson RA et al. 1997, Diabetes 46(11):1786-91, PMID 9356027 -- RCT (n=180) type 2 diabetics, 200mcg vs 1000mcg/day chromium picolinate x4 months; 1000mcg arm showed significantly lower fasting glucose/insulin/HbA1c; 200mcg arm weaker/less consistent.