Benefits
Metabolic syndrome marker support
In a 12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 166 sedentary adults with metabolic syndrome risk factors followed an exercise and diet program and also took this chromium + amla + shilajit combination or placebo. Only 109 finished. The researchers describe their results as 'some evidence (p < 0.05 or approaching significance)' on artery stiffness, blood vessel dilation, insulin sensitivity markers and lipids, note that benefits were more consistent at 6 weeks, and report that the differences among groups had diminished by the 12-week endpoint. Because everyone exercised and dieted, the supplement was tested as an add-on, not on its own. The trial was funded by Kerry Inc.
Endothelial function support
The amla component has been tested on its own: in 80 adults with type 2 diabetes, 12 weeks of standardized Phyllanthus emblica extract (250 or 500 mg twice daily) improved a measure of blood vessel function and lowered markers of oxidative stress and inflammation compared with placebo. That study used amla alone in people with a diagnosed disease, so it does not show what the finished blend does for a healthy person.
Healthy lipid profile
In the cited amla-alone trial in 80 adults with type 2 diabetes, lipid measures and hsCRP improved over 12 weeks. No study cited here tested this ingredient in overweight adults without diabetes, and in the combined 12-week trial the differences between the supplement and placebo groups had diminished by the endpoint, so a lipid effect for the finished blend is not established.
Insulin sensitivity support
Chromium is an essential trace mineral involved in normal macronutrient metabolism. In the chromium-only trial cited here (56 adults with type 2 diabetes, 90 days, 50 or 200 micrograms daily), chromium nicotinate did not significantly improve glucose control or body measurements versus placebo. In the combined-blend trial, insulin sensitivity markers moved in a favorable direction, but the results were borderline and the group differences had faded by 12 weeks.
Mechanism of action
Chromium and insulin receptor signaling
Chromium is a cofactor for chromodulin (low-molecular-weight chromium-binding substance), which is thought to amplify insulin receptor signaling and support normal glucose uptake. This is textbook biochemistry, not proof that supplemental chromium improves blood sugar; the chromium-only trial cited here found no significant benefit.
Amla galloyl-tannin antioxidant defense
Emblicanin A and B and gallic acid from the Capros® amla component act as antioxidants in laboratory testing, and this is the proposed explanation for the lower oxidative stress markers seen in the amla-alone trial in people with type 2 diabetes. It is a proposed mechanism, not something the cited human trials measured directly.
Shilajit mineral and electron-transport support
Purified shilajit (PrimaVie®) provides fulvic acid and dibenzo-α-pyrones that are proposed to act as mineral carriers and to support energy production inside cells. None of the studies cited on this page tested shilajit on its own, so its individual contribution to the blend is unknown.
Endothelial NO and inflammation modulation
One proposed explanation is that polyphenols from amla and shilajit dampen inflammation signaling and support nitric oxide-dependent widening of blood vessels. This is a theory offered for the artery measurements in the 12-week combined trial, and those between-group differences had diminished by the end of that trial.
Clinical trials
12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 166 sedentary adults (≥2 metabolic syndrome risk factors, mean BMI ~34) testing the Crominex-style complex at 400 μg chromium + 6 mg P. emblica + 6 mg shilajit and 800 μg chromium + 12 mg P. emblica + 12 mg shilajit versus P. emblica-only arms and placebo. Endpoints: pulse wave velocity, flow-mediated dilation, platelet aggregation, insulin sensitivity, lipid profile, body composition. All participants also took part in an exercise and diet program, so the supplement was tested as an add-on to lifestyle change. Funded by Kerry Inc. (Martinez 2025, PMID 40573153).
166 sedentary adults with metabolic syndrome risk factors enrolled; only 109 finished, a dropout rate of about 34%. 12 weeks.
The authors report only 'some evidence (p < 0.05 or approaching significance)' of benefit on artery stiffness, blood vessel dilation, platelet aggregation, insulin sensitivity markers and lipids, say the benefits were more consistently seen at 6 weeks, and state that the differences among groups had diminished by 12 weeks, the study's own endpoint. Their conclusion is that the combination may enhance some of the changes produced by exercise and diet, not that it works on its own.
Randomized, double-blind, controlled trial in 80 adults with type 2 diabetes; standardized P. emblica extract (250 or 500 mg twice daily) versus atorvastatin 10 mg and placebo over 12 weeks. Endpoints: endothelial function (reflection index), malondialdehyde, glutathione, hsCRP, lipid profile, HbA1c.
80 adults with type 2 diabetes. 12 weeks.
All active groups significantly improved endothelial reflection index versus placebo, with the 500 mg twice-daily amla arm producing reductions in malondialdehyde and hsCRP comparable to atorvastatin 10 mg. Lipid profile and HbA1c also improved. This trial tested one component, amla extract, on its own in people already diagnosed with type 2 diabetes; it is not evidence for the finished Crominex 3+ blend (Usharani 2013, PMID 23935377).
Double-blind randomized clinical trial in 56 adults with type 2 diabetes testing 50 μg or 200 μg chromium nicotinate versus placebo for 90 days. Endpoints: HOMA-IR, HOMA-β, glucose, lipid profile, body composition.
56 adults with type 2 diabetes. 90 days.
Neither 50 μg nor 200 μg chromium nicotinate produced clinically significant improvements in glucose homeostasis or anthropometry versus placebo. A modest weight reduction (about 1 kg) was seen in the lower-dose group. This is a null result for chromium on its own in people with type 2 diabetes (Guimaraes 2016, PMID 27259354).