Hyaluronic acid (hyaluronan) is a substance found in connective tissue, skin and the fluid that cushions joints. Taken by mouth as a supplement, it is marketed for skin moisture and wrinkles and for knee pain, mostly based on small trials.
Also known as: hyaluronan, sodium hyaluronate, HA.
Oral hyaluronic acid has no intake value or upper limit, and there is no NIH fact sheet for it. The skin trial below (Hsu 2021) used 120 mg a day for 12 weeks. These are study protocols, not a recommendation.
It is sold in the US as a dietary supplement. Under the 1994 dietary supplement law (DSHEA), FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they are marketed, and the maker, not FDA, is responsible for safety and labeling. Hyaluronic acid injected into the knee and used in dermal fillers is a separate, regulated medical product; this page is about the oral supplement.
In a 12-week placebo-controlled trial of 40 healthy adults aged 35 to 64 (Hsu 2021), 120 mg a day of oral hyaluronan improved wrinkle scores, skin moisture and elasticity compared with placebo. A 2016 review (Oe) of placebo-controlled trials from 2008 to 2015 reports that oral hyaluronan eased knee pain and joint swelling.
Both papers include authors employed by Kewpie Corporation, and the trials were small. We found no NIH review of oral hyaluronic acid, so independent evidence and long-term safety data are limited.
We could not find a single published half-life or time to peak for oral hyaluronic acid that applies to a supplement dose, so we do not list one. The 2016 review (Oe) says how it acts after being swallowed is still being worked out, with a focus on binding in the gut lining.
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