Activated Charcoal

Activated Carbon · Medicinal Charcoal · Carbo activatus

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Acute oral overdose¹ Paracetamol overdose² Phenobarbital poisoning³ Amatoxin mushroom poisoning⁴ Ricin ingestion⁵

Activated charcoal is a porous carbon material that adsorbs compounds in the gut lumen and limits their absorption.¹ Its established use is gastrointestinal decontamination after acute oral overdose, where a systematic review reported benefit beyond one hour in many clinical scenarios. It is also used for pruritus in cholestasis of pregnancy, vascular calcification in chronic kidney disease, and tooth whitening, where in vitro reviews find less effect than alternatives. Patients also take it for bloating and gas, which this literature has not tested.

In poisoning the evidence is the strongest available and still limited: a Cochrane review found charcoal appeared to reduce paracetamol absorption, but clinical benefit was unclear and trial quality was low². Reviews found insufficient evidence for cholestasis of pregnancy and mixed results for vascular calcification in kidney disease. A 2024 systematic review of case reports and series linked charcoal to higher survival in amatoxin mushroom poisoning; no randomized trial has tested it⁴. Products are almost all capsules; see Form comparison.

Last updated October 15, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

68 sources, 51 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources