Hepalyse W, explained: what's actually in the little brown bottle
A line-by-line look at the bottle Zeria has had on Japanese konbini shelves for fifteen years — the ingredients, the history, and what the product is not.
By YOAKE editorial
If you have spent any time in Japan, you have probably seen Hepalyse W. A 100 ml brown-glass bottle with a white label, stocked in the cooler section of every konbini, every pharmacy, every train-station kiosk, and every hotel vending machine in the country.
It is not the flashiest product on the shelf — Ukon no Chikara, the turmeric drink one fridge panel over, has a sleeker aluminum can — but the Hepalyse line has been in Zeria's consumer catalogue since 1968, which is longer than most countries' entire supplement industries.
This is a look at what is actually in the bottle, who makes it, and how it got where it is.
The ingredient panel, translated
Each 100 ml bottle of Hepalyse W contains six active ingredients, per the Japanese label:
Pork liver extract (enzyme-hydrolysed), 100 mg. This is the flagship ingredient and the one that sometimes raises eyebrows for Western customers. It is not raw liver and not liver powder. The porcine liver tissue is enzymatically digested — broken down by enzymes into smaller peptides and free amino acids — and the resulting hydrolysate is standardized by weight. 100 mg per bottle is the label dose. Zeria has used this ingredient class since the original Hepalyse tablets in 1968.
Turmeric curcumin, 45 mg. A standardized curcuminoid extract from turmeric rhizome. Western turmeric capsules typically contain 500–1,000 mg of whole turmeric, which translates to roughly 15–30 mg of curcuminoids at typical extraction levels. So Hepalyse is in the same order of magnitude as a capsule, delivered as a liquid.
Piperin (black pepper extract), trace. Piperine is the compound in black pepper studied for its effect on curcumin absorption. The label lists it as "trace" — a small included amount, not a standardized dose. This is the black-pepper-plus-turmeric stack applied in liquid form.
Niacin (vitamin B₃) 20 mg, riboflavin (B₂) 5 mg, pyridoxine HCl (B₆) 5 mg. A standard B-complex contribution, typical of functional-beverage doses.
Inactives: sugar, citric acid, natural pineapple flavor, water. Sweet, pineapple-forward, a noticeable bitter curcumin finish.
Who makes it
Zeria Pharmaceutical was founded in Tokyo in 1955. It trades on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange under ticker 4559. Zeria is a mid-cap Japanese pharmaceutical company — not a supplement startup — whose core business is prescription drugs for gastroenterology and orthopedics. The consumer-health line that includes Hepalyse sits alongside that as a smaller revenue stream.
The Hepalyse line launched with Hepalyse Tablets in 1968. The modern Hepalyse W beverage — the 100 ml drink YOAKE ships — is a later addition: it was released in November 2011 as a reformulation that added curcumin and piperin to the pork-liver-extract base. The "W" in the name comes from Zeria's packaging-color system; it is not "Hepalyse Extra Strength" or "Hepalyse 2.0." It is just the letter on the bottle.
There is a broader Hepalyse family: Hepalyse Plus II (a higher-potency pharmacy-only tablet), Hepalyse Pro (a higher-potency drink), Hepalyse Mini (a smaller bottle for single-serving purchase). The W is the OTC drink stocked in konbini and drugstores nationwide.
Where it sits in Japanese life
The product category Hepalyse is in is 肝臓ドリンク — literally "liver drinks." In Japan it is a broad functional-beverage shelf alongside energy drinks and vitamin C tonics.
Hepalyse is positioned as the "adult, slightly serious" option in that shelf. Ukon no Chikara is the approachable modern one. Lipovitan D is the energy one. Hepalyse is the one with the brown bottle and the pharmaceutical-grade feel.
The Japanese regulatory body, the MHLW, regulates what can and cannot be claimed in advertising. Zeria stays on the supportive-nutrition side of that line. YOAKE does the same in the US. We do not market Hepalyse as a remedy for anything.
What it is not
Hepalyse W is a dietary supplement and functional beverage. In the US, that means it is not a drug and has not been approved or evaluated by the FDA. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
It is not vegetarian or vegan — the pork liver extract is animal-derived. It is not caffeine-containing, which we mention because the most frequent confusion is between Hepalyse and Lipovitan D (a different product, with 50 mg caffeine, also on our shelf).
It is not a replacement for water, sleep, or moderation.
If you want to try one
Our Hepalyse W SKU is the standard Japanese 10-bottle retail pack, shipped untouched apart from the English FDA overlabel. One pack is $69 during the first reservation window.
For the full context on sourcing, freight, and the reservation mechanic, the founder letter covers it in depth.