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Ala7.0
Alpha Lipoic Acid Research
Likely helps
345 peer-reviewed studies
What the evidence says
Likely helps
Alpha Lipoic Acid appears to help in 17 of 20 studies with measurable effects — the evidence leans clearly favourable.
Most evidence is from high-quality meta-analyses and randomised trials published 1971–2026 with a typical study size of 137 participants.
Based on 345 studies · 59 meta-analyses · 231 RCTs · 894,369 total participants
Confidence
High confidence
What the studies found
17helped2unclear1didn't help· 325 more without graded effect data
By outcome
Glucose & metabolicImproved glucose disposal and insulin sensitivity · 2-4 weeks · Improves insulin sensitivity and supports mitochondrial energy · 4-12 weeks
Heart & blood pressureImproves endothelial function and reduces oxidative stress · 8-12 weeks
Mostly mechanism / observational14 studies
Cholesterol & lipidsImproves endothelial function and reduces oxidative stress · 8-12 weeks
Mostly mechanism / observational10 studies
InflammationImproved insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control · 4-12 weeks
Likely helps9 studies
Safety profile
Mostly mechanism / observational8 studies
Liver healthAntioxidant cofactor for liver function · 4-8 weeks
Mostly mechanism / observational5 studies
Cognitive function
Mostly mechanism / observational4 studies
By the numbers
Pulled from 71 studies with measurable effects
Likely real effects
79%
across studies
People studied
894k
typical study: 137 people
Strongest designs
290
59 pooled, 231 randomised
Showed benefit
85%
17/20 studies
How long studies ran
1–3 months
3
3+ months
4
Populations Studied
Patients with burning mouth syndrome5
General population4
Patients with diabetic polyneuropathy3
Adults3
Active research area
127 studies in the last 5 years · Latest meta-analysis: 2026
197119982026
1Intermediate disease markersMeta-Analysisn=704 · large study2025
Prospero registration number CRD42023450239.
Luo Y, Zhang J, Guo H. · BMJ open (2025)
Begg's test indicated no evidence of publication bias.
Conclusions No significant associations were detected between ALA intake and intermediate disease markers, including TG, TC, HDL-C, LDL-C, HOMA-IR and FBS levels, in overweight or obese adults.
Further research is needed to explore the potential associations of ALA, especially in high-risk populations with metabolic disorders, by employing longer intervention durations, higher dosages and optimised formulations.
3Hemoglobin levelsMeta-AnalysisCited 4×n=529 · large study2024
ALA supplementation had no statistically significant effect on iron-related parameters.
Sharifi-Zahabi E et al. · International journal for vitamin and nutrition research. Internationale Zeitschrift fur Vitamin- und Ernahrungsforschung. Journal international de vitaminologie et de nutrition (2024)
Noticeable benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Likely real
In subgroup analysis, ALA significantly increased hemoglobin in patients with hematological disorders (WMD = 1.23 g/dL; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.45 g/dL; I2 = 96.6%, p < 0.001) and in studies with durations longer than 8 weeks (WMD = 1.03 g/dL; 95% CI: 0.82, 1.25 g/dL; I2 = 96.5%, p = 0.02).
ALA supplementation had no statistically significant effect on iron-related parameters.
4C-reactive protein levelsMeta-AnalysisCited 5×n=947 · large study2023
In summary, ALA supplementation improves inflammatory markers without any evidence of non-linear association to dose or duration of the trial.
Vajdi M et al. · International journal for vitamin and nutrition research. Internationale Zeitschrift fur Vitamin- und Ernahrungsforschung. Journal international de vitaminologie et de nutrition (2023)
Noticeable benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Likely real
The weighted mean differences (WMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to evaluate the pooled effect size.
The findings of the meta-analysis showed that ALA supplementation significantly reduced CRP (WMD: -0.69 mg/L, 95% CI: -1.13, -0.26, P=0.002), IL-6 (WMD: -1.83 pg/ml, 95% CI: -2.90, -0.76, P=0.001), and TNF-α concentrations (WMD: -0.45 pg/ml, 95% CI: -0.85, -0.04, P=0.032).
No evidence of departure from linearity was observed between dose and duration of the ALA supplementation on serum CRP, IL-6 and TNF-α concentration.
5Endothelial functionSystematic ReviewCited 11×n=1,106 · large study2022
In conclusion, these results suggest improvement of endothelial function, but not endothelium-independent vasodilation as a potential mechanism by which ALA attenuates cardiovascular diseases.
Hajizadeh-Sharafabad F et al. · Critical reviews in food science and nutrition (2022)
Of 11 trials that evaluated endothelial function by methods such as flow-mediated dilation (n = 7), reactive hyperemia (n = 2) and ACh-induced endothelium-dependent vasodilation (n = 2), 10 reported a significant improvement in endothelial function.
In contrast, none of six trials examining the response of endothelium-independent vasodilation reported the favorable impact.
The effect of ALA on arterial stiffness measures has been poorly studied.
These findings suggest that ALA is a viable supplement to improve some of the glycemic and inflammatory biomarkers.
Rahimlou M et al. · Clinical Nutrition ESPEN (2019)
Noticeable benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Likely real
The results demonstrated the significant effect of ALA on Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS) (weighted mean difference (WMD)) = -6.57, 95% confidence interval (CI: -11.91 to -1.23, P = 0.016), Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) (WMD = -0.35, 95% CI: -0.55 to -0.15, P = 0.004).
Significant effects were also seen on Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF-α) (WMD = -1.57, 95% CI: -2.29 to -0.85, P < 0.05), Interleukin 6 levels (IL-6) (WMD = -1.15, 95% CI: -1.58 to -0.72, P < 0.001), and C-reactive protein (CRP) (WMD = -0.31, 95% CI: -0.47 to -0.16).
No effect was detected for ALA on insulin and the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR).