Which supplements and ingredients are banned in South Africa?

Q: Which supplements and ingredients are banned in South Africa?

Two different lists exist. Legally restricted ingredients, such as DMAA (listed in Medicines Act Schedule 7) and anabolic steroids, cannot be sold as ordinary supplements in South Africa. Separately, the WADA Prohibited List bans substances in sport, which includes many legal products. Creatine, caffeine and whey are not banned in either sense.

Is "banned" one list or two?

Two, and mixing them up causes most confusion.

Legally restricted in South Africa. The Medicines and Related Substances Act schedules medicines and other substances. Scheduled substances cannot be sold as general supplements.
Banned in sport. The WADA Prohibited List, applied in South Africa through SAIDS, covers what athletes may not use in or out of competition. A product can be perfectly legal to buy and still cause a positive test.

Which ingredients are restricted by South African law?

DMAA (1,3-dimethylamylamine, methylhexanamine). It is named in Schedule 7, the most restrictive schedule, in the Acts Online text of the schedules (substituted by a notice dated 1 August 2025). In practice this rules out retail sale in a pre-workout. News24 reported in November 2015 that Dis-Chem pulled the pre-workout Jack3d from its shelves.
Anabolic-androgenic steroids and prohormones. These are prescription medicines. A supplement containing them is an unregistered, adulterated medicine. See are prohormones and steroids in supplements illegal.
SARMs. They are not approved medicines and are prohibited in sport. We did not verify their exact scheduling under South African law, so treat them as unlawful to sell as a supplement and read what SARMs are.

What is banned in sport but legal to buy?

The AIS places the following in Group D (banned or high contamination risk): DMAA, DMBA, synephrine (bitter orange), ephedrine, sibutramine, prohormones and DHEA, SARMs, GH-releasing peptides, herbal testosterone boosters such as Tribulus and maca, and colostrum. Several of these appear in fat burners and "testosterone booster" products on open sale. Read DMAA in South Africa for the pre-workout angle.

What is not banned?

Ingredient	Status
Creatine monohydrate	Not on the WADA list; AIS Group A
Caffeine	On WADA's monitoring programme, not prohibited
Whey and casein protein	Food; AIS Group A sports food
Beta-alanine, citrulline	Not prohibited
Ashwagandha	No South African ban found as of October 2026; banned in food supplements in Denmark and advised against in the Netherlands

How does contamination change the picture?

An ingredient list can be clean while the product is not. Geyer and colleagues (2004) found undeclared anabolic steroids in 14.8% of 634 supplements; Duiven and colleagues (2021) found undeclared doping substances in 38% of 66 fat-loss and muscle products. SAIDS applies strict liability: an athlete is responsible for whatever is in their sample, whoever recommended the product.

What should you do?

Avoid fat burners, "testosterone boosters", prohormone products and unlabelled blends if you are tested.
Prefer single-ingredient products from batch-tested schemes (see what third-party tested means).
Ask a registered sports dietitian or doctor before using anything new, and use the SAIDS medication check for medicines.
Parents of school athletes: SAIDS and BokSmart recommend a food-first approach for under-18s.

Educational information, not medical advice. Speak to a doctor, pharmacist or registered dietitian before using supplements if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, under 18, taking medication, or living with kidney, liver or heart disease. Prices were observed in October 2026 and are not offers.