Ellagic Acid

Ellagitannins

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Lipid profile^{1, 2} Glycemic control in diabetes³ Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease⁴ Cognitive performance^{2, 5} Multiple sclerosis⁶ Irritable bowel syndrome⁷ Melasma, topical^{8, 9}	Pregnancy or lactation¹⁰

Ellagic acid, derived from dietary ellagitannins, is a phenolic compound found in red raspberries, strawberries, pomegranates, and walnuts¹¹. Gut bacteria convert it to urolithins¹². Supplementation is used for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity in type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, and dyslipidemia, and for cognition, multiple sclerosis, and irritable bowel syndrome. Effects appear mostly in overweight or metabolically abnormal patients^{2, 13}.

Meta-analyses support lower triglycerides and higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol with ellagic acid in people with abnormal metabolic markers¹. Ellagitannin-containing nuts and pomegranate also lowered total cholesterol across randomized trials¹³. Diabetes data are mostly from animals, with only two randomized trials in one systematic review¹⁴. A 2025 laboratory study incubating ellagic acid with human fecal microbiota found it yielded a range of urolithins, including one not previously identified; it was not a clinical trial¹⁵. Many products list ellagic acid, mostly as powders and capsules, often from pomegranate extract; see Form comparison.

United States product labels warn against use in pregnancy and lactation¹⁰. Memorial Sloan Kettering lists medications metabolized by cytochrome P450 enzymes as a reason not to take it, while stating the clinical relevance is not known¹¹.

Last updated October 17, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

49 sources, 38 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources