Trehalose

Trehalose supplementation

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Dry eye disease¹ Radiation-induced xerostomia² Oral dryness^{2, 3} Periodontal maintenance therapy⁴ Endurance exercise fueling⁵	Pregnancy or nursing⁶

Trehalose is a natural disaccharide made by many organisms but not by vertebrates⁷. It is studied for activating autophagy, the cellular clearance pathway. In practice it is used for dryness of the ocular surface and mouth, in tear-film and saliva-substitute products². It is also used as a powder in subgingival air-polishing during periodontal maintenance and as a carbohydrate source during endurance exercise. Typical patients are people with symptomatic dry eye or radiation-induced dry mouth, and cyclists using it as a low-glycemic fuel.

Evidence is strongest for topical use. Neurologic and cardiovascular hopes have not held up: an intravenous trial in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis found no difference in progression versus placebo⁸, and a small trial in coronary artery disease showed no reduction in arterial inflammation⁹. A 2025 systematic review of lysosome-targeting phytochemicals in Alzheimer disease grouped trehalose among compounds reported to reduce amyloid beta accumulation; it is a mechanistic review, not a trial¹⁰. Oral supplements are sold mainly as bulk powder, with 184 products listing trehalose; see Form comparison.

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

In the full monograph

50 sources, 37 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.
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