Zinc
Of 13,396 on-market zinc products in the January 2026 DSLD dump, the median declared dose is 10 elemental mg, and 31.9% list unspecified/undisclosed form as the primary form.
Form share
Of 12,555 products with an identifiable primary form, here is the share held by each form of Zinc on the market today.
Embed this chart
Free to embed on your site or article — attribution and a link back are built into the frame.
| Form | Quality tier | n | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| unspecified/undisclosed form | Unrated | 4,006 | 31.9% |
| Zinc Oxide | Tier 3 | 2,481 | 19.8% |
| Zinc Citrate | Tier 1 | 2,223 | 17.7% |
| Zinc Gluconate | Tier 2 | 1,289 | 10.3% |
| Zinc Bisglycinate Chelate | Unrated | 833 | 6.6% |
| Zinc Amino Acid Chelate | Tier 2 | 695 | 5.5% |
| Zinc Picolinate | Tier 2 | 598 | 4.8% |
| Zinc Sulfate | Tier 2 | 430 | 3.4% |
Form share over time
Entry-year breakdown of the top forms, 2012–2025.
Dose distribution
Deciles of declared dose per serving (elemental mg), among 13,114 products with a disclosed amount, against the RDA of 11 and UL of 40.
Embed this chart
Free to embed on your site or article — attribution and a link back are built into the frame.
- 7.6% of products fall below the fairy-dust threshold (2 mg, 20% of the studied low dose).
- 0.8% of products don't disclose an amount because Zinc is declared inside a proprietary blend.
Where does your dose rank?
Enter a per-serving dose (elemental mg) to see exactly how it compares to the 13,114 on-market zinc 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
| Brand | Products |
|---|---|
| Douglas Laboratories | 310 |
| Nature's Way | 186 |
| Centrum | 184 |
| Wonder Laboratories | 156 |
| DC | 150 |
| Source Naturals | 139 |
| NOW | 122 |
| Emergen-C | 121 |
| Pure Encapsulations | 120 |
| MegaFood | 118 |
| Nature Made | 116 |
| Higher Nature | 116 |
| Life Extension | 111 |
| Metagenics | 110 |
| Bluebonnet | 106 |
| The Vitamin Shoppe | 104 |
| XYMOGEN | 93 |
| New Chapter | 92 |
| GNC Mega Men | 89 |
| Puritan's Pride | 87 |
| Bayer One A Day | 84 |
| Vitamin World | 83 |
| Solgar | 82 |
| Nutri-West | 79 |
| NaturesPlus | 79 |
Search interest over time
How often people search for zinc 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 "Zinc" with no salt form.
Elemental fraction: 32.1% (Zn3(C6H5O7)2 x 2H2O, dihydrate (USP monograph, NLT 31.3% Zn dried basis))
Isotope-tracer RCT: absorption 61.3%, comparable to gluconate, significantly higher than oxide.
Source: Wegmuller R et al. 2014, J Nutr 144(2):132-136, PMID 24259556
Elemental fraction: 80.3% (ZnO, anhydrous (no stable hydrate))
Isotope-tracer RCT: absorption 49.9%, significantly lower than citrate/gluconate; 3/15 subjects showed little/no absorption.
Source: Wegmuller R et al. 2014, PMID 24259556
Elemental fraction: 14.3% (Zn(C6H11O7)2, anhydrous (standard commercial/USP form))
Absorption 60.9%, statistically comparable to citrate, both significantly better than oxide.
Source: Wegmuller R et al. 2014, PMID 24259556
No specific human isotope-absorption study for the generic category (distinct from bisglycinate specifically).
Source: none located (no human study found for the generic category; "amino acid chelate" is not a defined compound)
Elemental fraction: 21.1% (Zn(C6H4NO2)2, anhydrous)
Raised hair/urine/erythrocyte zinc more than citrate or gluconate in a small (n=15) crossover using indirect tissue markers; the popular "best absorbed" claim is more equivocal than commonly stated.
Source: Barrie SA et al. 1987, Agents Actions 21(1-2):223-228, PMID 3630857
Elemental fraction: 30.6% (Zn(C2H4NO2)2, anhydrous bisglycinate)
Zinc bisglycinate was absorbed better than zinc sulphate in a rat model with dietary phytate (overall bioavailability ~49% vs ~42%; Schlegel & Windisch 2006). In a small human crossover (n=12 women, single 15 mg dose) bis-glycinate raised serum Zn AUC 43% above gluconate (Gandia et al. 2007); a single small pharmacokinetic study, so no consistent superiority is established and no tier is assigned.
Source: Schlegel P, Windisch W. 2006, J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr 90(5-6):216-22, PMID 16684142 (rats); Gandia P et al. 2007, Int J Vitam Nutr Res 77(4):243-8, PMID 18271278 (human crossover, n=12)
Elemental fraction: 22.7% (ZnSO4 x 7H2O, heptahydrate (classic OTC form; a monohydrate at 0.364 also exists commercially -- check specific labels))
WHO/UNICEF-recommended form for diarrhea-management zinc dosing and the classic reference standard in absorption literature. In one small preliminary isotope study (n=8, 2 mg 70Zn given with milk, crossover) fractional absorption of gluconate was significantly higher than that of sulfate; no larger head-to-head human isotope comparison was verified.
Source: Piacenza F et al. 2023, Nutrients 15(8):1885, PMID 37111104 (preliminary, n=8); WHO/UNICEF clinical-use basis
Reference values
- RDA (adult): 11 elemental mg — 11mg (men); 8mg (women)
- Tolerable Upper Intake Level (adult): 40 elemental mg — Based on reduction in erythrocyte Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase activity
- Studied clinical dose range: 10–50 mg
- Wegmuller R et al. 2014, J Nutr 144(2):132-136, PMID 24259556 -- double-isotope RCT (n=15) crossover, 10mg elemental Zn as citrate/gluconate/oxide; citrate (61.3%) and gluconate (60.9%) absorption significantly higher than oxide (49.9%, P<0.01). High end reflects Barrie SA et al. 1987, Agents Actions 21(1-2):223-228, PMID 3630857 (50mg elemental Zn/day).