Is It Safe to Take a Hyaluronic Acid Supplement?

For most adults, yes: oral hyaluronic acid at the roughly 110 to 240 mg a day used in trials has been well tolerated, with side effects no more frequent than placebo, and no interaction with medicines has been reported. The confusion around its safety comes from mixing up three different products. Hyaluronic acid injections (dermal fillers and knee injections) have the side effects people list, bruising, swelling, pain at the site; serums and creams sit on the skin; the supplement is a swallowed polysaccharide, and its record is the quiet one.^{1, 2} What is not known: it has not been studied in pregnancy or breastfeeding, and the trials are short, mostly eight to twelve weeks. In the UK, hyaluronic acid has no authorised health claim, so what the trials found about skin moisture and knee comfort is reported here as evidence rather than as a promise.³

• Safety record: trials at about 110 to 240 mg a day, 4 to 12 weeks, side effects no different from placebo
• Who should ask first: pregnant and breastfeeding women (no data); anyone with an egg or poultry allergy choosing a rooster-comb source
• Not a side effect of the supplement: bruising, swelling, lumps, high blood pressure, weight gain; these belong to injections or to nothing at all

What an oral hyaluronic acid supplement is

Hyaluronic acid is a long sugar chain, a glycosaminoglycan, that holds water in skin, joint fluid and the eye; about half of the body's supply is in the skin, and it is turned over quickly, with a third replaced every day. Supplements contain sodium hyaluronate, the salt form, made either by bacterial fermentation, which is how most are now produced, or extracted from rooster combs. Molecular weight varies from under 50 kDa to over a million, and trials have used both low and high weights at about 110 to 240 mg a day.^{1, 4}

Is hyaluronic acid absorbed when taken orally?

Partly, and this was the scientific objection for years. Radiolabelled hyaluronic acid fed to rats and dogs was absorbed from the gut, partly after gut bacteria had broken it into smaller pieces, and reached skin, joints and bone; a later rat study found dietary hyaluronic acid migrating into the skin.^{4, 5} In humans the evidence is indirect: the trials below measured skin and joint outcomes rather than blood levels.

What the trials found

For skin, a review of Japanese trials found that 120 mg a day of hyaluronic acid for four to eight weeks increased skin moisture measured by instrument compared with placebo in people with dry skin, and a manufacturer-funded 12-week double-blind trial of 120 mg in 60 adults found wrinkle depth and skin lustre improved against placebo.^{1, 6} A 2025 pooled analysis of seven trials reported gains in hydration, elasticity and wrinkle depth over 12 weeks.⁷ For knees, a review of oral hyaluronic acid trials in knee pain found consistent improvement in symptoms over 12 weeks and longer, and a 2024 double-blind trial of sodium hyaluronate relieved knee discomfort over 12 weeks.^{2, 8} The trials are small, many were industry-funded, and none is long. That is enough for a measurable, well-tolerated result in trials, and not enough for an authorised claim, which is the UK register's position.³

How much hyaluronic acid per day did the trials use?

Between 48 and 240 mg a day: that is the span of the nine human trials tabulated in a 2016 review.² For skin, the Japanese trials used 120 mg a day for four to eight weeks, the 12-week trial in 60 adults 120 mg, and the 12-week trial in 150 adults 60 or 120 mg.^{1, 6, 10} For knees, the year-long trial in 60 adults used 200 mg a day, and the 2024 trial 111 mg of sodium hyaluronate a day for 12 weeks.^{9, 8} No trial has compared one dose with another, so there is no tested best dose; products declaring 20 to 50 mg have not been tested at that dose. Whether it is a capsule, a tablet or a drink, the figure to read is the milligrams per serving.^{1, 7}

Side effects of hyaluronic acid supplements

The side effects of hyaluronic acid depend entirely on the route. Oral: in the trials above, adverse events were mild, mainly digestive, and no more frequent than placebo; there is no report of allergic reaction to fermented hyaluronic acid and no reported interaction with any medicine.^{1, 6, 8} Injected into skin as a filler: bruising, swelling, lumps, and rarely vascular complications. Injected into a knee: temporary pain and swelling at the site. Topical: occasional irritation. Three claims that circulate about the supplement have no evidence behind them: that oral hyaluronic acid raises blood pressure, that it is antibacterial, and that it speeds wound healing.

Does hyaluronic acid cause weight gain?

Weight gain has not been reported with oral hyaluronic acid: none of the trials we checked lists it as a side effect, and their side-effect records were similar to placebo. A 2016 review tabulated nine human trials at 48 to 240 mg a day, with no adverse event attributed to hyaluronic acid.² In the longest, a year of 200 mg a day in 60 adults with knee osteoarthritis, four people on hyaluronic acid and two on placebo stopped with possible side effects, a difference that was not statistically significant.⁹ In the largest, 150 healthy adults on 60 or 120 mg a day for 12 weeks, mild events such as skin or hair changes occurred at similar rates in every group, placebo included.¹⁰ A 12-week trial in 60 adults that asked specifically about diarrhoea, abdominal pain and allergic reactions recorded none.⁶ None of the trials tracked body weight as an outcome, so the answer rests on their side-effect records.

Who should not take hyaluronic acid supplements?

• Pregnant and breastfeeding women, because there are no trials.
• People with egg or poultry allergy, if the product is extracted from rooster comb; fermented sodium hyaluronate avoids this, and the label should say which.
• Anyone having cancer treatment should clear every supplement with their oncology team as routine. Hyaluronic acid is involved in normal and some tumour biology, which has led to online warnings; no study has shown an effect of the oral supplement either way.
• People on medicines have no documented interaction to worry about, but a pharmacist's check costs nothing. For collagen's own cautions see is there a downside to taking collagen.

Collagen or hyaluronic acid: which should you take?

Collagen is the protein framework of the skin's deep layer; hyaluronic acid is the water-holding gel between the fibres. Collagen peptides have the larger evidence base: a 2023 meta-analysis of 26 trials in 1,721 people found skin hydration improving against placebo, and there are trials for joints, bone and muscle besides.¹¹ Hyaluronic acid's trials are fewer and smaller. Nobody has compared them head to head, and in laboratory work collagen peptides prompt skin cells to make more hyaluronic acid of their own, so the two are not rivals. Many people take both: there is no interaction. The Wellgard collagen guide sets out what the collagen trials found and does collagen make you look better goes through the skin trials.

Collagen and hyaluronic acid together

Nothing in this table is an authorised claim; both are reported as trial evidence.

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to take hyaluronic acid orally every day?

The trials dosed daily for up to twelve weeks without a safety signal. There is no UK upper limit; the body makes and turns over several grams a day.^{1, 6}

What foods contain hyaluronic acid?

Animal connective tissue, so bone broth, skin-on meat and gristle; amounts are small and unmeasured on labels, and the body makes its own from glucose and glutamine.

Which is better for joints, collagen or hyaluronic acid?

Neither has been shown better, because they have not been compared. For collagen peptides, a 2024 analysis of 35 randomised trials in 3,165 people with osteoarthritis found small to moderate reductions in pain and improvements in function, with no more side effects than placebo.¹² For oral hyaluronic acid, a review of the knee-pain trials found consistent improvement in symptoms over twelve weeks and longer.² Neither is an authorised claim; the best type of collagen for joints has the collagen detail.

Sources

1. Kawada C, et al. Ingested hyaluronan moisturizes dry skin. Nutrition Journal, 2014. PubMed 25014997.
2. Oe M, et al. Oral hyaluronan relieves knee pain: a review. Nutrition Journal, 2016. Narrative review with a safety table of nine human trials; most authors at an ingredient manufacturer. PubMed 26818459.
3. Department of Health and Social Care. Great Britain nutrition and health claims (NHC) register. gov.uk.
4. Balogh L, et al. Absorption, uptake and tissue affinity of high-molecular-weight hyaluronan after oral administration in rats and dogs. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2008. PubMed 18959406.
5. Oe M, et al. Dietary hyaluronic acid migrates into the skin of rats. The Scientific World Journal, 2014. PubMed 25383371.
6. Oe M, et al. Oral hyaluronan relieves wrinkles: a double-blinded, placebo-controlled study over a 12-week period. Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017. Randomised trial, 60 adults, 12 weeks; manufacturer-funded. PubMed 28761365.
7. Amin P, et al. Oral hyaluronic acid supplement: efficacy in skin hydration, elasticity, and wrinkle depth reduction. Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2025. Pooled analysis of 7 randomised trials. PubMed 40911749.
8. Sugiyama K, et al. Oral sodium hyaluronate relieves knee discomfort: a 12-week double-blinded, placebo-controlled study. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 2024. Supplier-funded. PubMed 38234616.
9. Tashiro T, et al. The Scientific World Journal, 2012. Randomised trial, 60 adults, 12 months; co-authored by staff of the ingredient manufacturer, which supplied it. PubMed 23226979.
10. Dolečková I, et al. Scientific Reports, 2025. Randomised trial, 150 adults, 12 weeks; run by staff of an ingredient manufacturer. PubMed 41422283.
11. Pu SY, et al. Effects of oral collagen for skin anti-aging: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrients, 2023. PubMed 37432180.
12. Liang CW, et al. Efficacy and safety of collagen derivatives for osteoarthritis: a trial sequential meta-analysis. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 2024. PubMed 38218227.

This article is general information, not medical advice.