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Ingredients

Ursolic Acid

Snapshot

IndicationsContraindications
  • Muscle strength1
  • Energy expenditure2
  • Obesity-related metabolic changes2
  • Pregnancy or nursing3
  • Anticoagulant or antiplatelet use3
  • Under 18 years3

Ursolic acid is a plant-derived triterpene found in apple peel, holy basil, rosemary, and sage4. It acts via skeletal muscle growth signaling and fat-tissue thermogenesis. Supplementation is used for skeletal muscle mass and strength and for obesity-related metabolic changes. It is also used for inflammation and oxidative stress, where the data come from animal and cell studies.

A 2024 meta-analysis of supplementation trials found no significant change in body weight, blood pressure, fasting glucose, or triglycerides. Over 48,000 products list ursolic acid, mostly as capsules, though oral absorption is poor; see Form comparison4.

Intravenous liposomal ursolic acid caused liver toxicity and diarrhea at higher single doses in a phase I trial5. Long-term oral safety has not been tested4. Labels on supplements sold in the United States ask people taking anticoagulant or antiplatelet medication to consult a physician before use3.

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

In the full monograph

34 sources, 23 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.
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Sources

  1. 1No additional effects of ursolic acid supplementation associated with combined exercise program on metabolic syndrome of postmenopausal women: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govCione, Verlengia, Barbosa et al. · Clinical nutrition ESPEN · 2021 · Pubmed
  2. 2Ursolic acid and mechanisms of actions on adipose and muscle tissue: a systematic review.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govKatashima, Silva, Gomes et al. · Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2017 · Pubmed
  3. 3US product labelsdsld.od.nih.govWarnings printed on US dietary supplement labels with this ingredient, from the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements' Dietary Supplement Label Database (DSLD). Manufacturers' precautions, not evidence of harm
  4. 4ADDF Cognitive Vitalityalzdiscovery.orgAlzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (Cognitive Vitality) — its neuroscientists' ratings of the evidence, potential benefit and safety of a supplement for brain health, reviewed by its Clinical Advisory Board
  5. 5Evaluation of toxicity and single-dose pharmacokinetics of intravenous ursolic acid liposomes in healthy adult volunteers and patients with advanced solid tumors.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govWang, Zhou, Qian et al. · Expert opinion on drug metabolism & toxicology · 2013 · Pubmed