Urolithin A Dosage: Trial (500mg-1,000mg) vs Shelf (250mg-1,000mg)
The honest answer
Human trials cluster at two doses: 500 mg/day (the low-dose arm of Singh 2022) and 1000 mg/day (used in most trials that measured exercise or endurance outcomes). Safety was studied up to 2000 mg as a single dose and 1,000 mg/day continuously for 4 months, which is still short of a 6-month-plus long-term read. There is no RDA or upper limit because urolithin A is not an essential nutrient. These are research doses, not recommendations.
Educational summary — not medical advice. Urolithin A has no established RDA or upper limit, and no long-term (6-month+) human safety data at any dose. This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Two doses anchor the evidence, and the shelf doesn't match either cleanly
Unlike some ingredients on this site where retail radically underdoses or overdoses the trial range, urolithin A's dosing story is about which trial dose you're targeting, and whether the molecule on the label matches. Singh 2022 (n=88 randomized, middle-aged untrained overweight adults, 4 months) directly compared 500mg against 1,000mg against placebo and measured hamstring strength, peak VO2 and 6-minute-walk distance. It is a single trial and has not been repeated head-to-head. Every other trial where exercise or endurance performance was the primary outcome simply used 1,000mg/day without testing a lower arm: Liu 2022 (older adults, 4 months), Whitfield 2025 (elite runners, 4 weeks), the soccer pilot (6 weeks), and Zhao 2024 (young trained athletes, 8 weeks). Separately, the first-in-human safety trial (Andreux 2019, n=60 sedentary elderly) tested single ascending doses from 250mg up to 2,000mg, plus 28 days of 250/500/1,000mg/day, and measured plasma levels of urolithin A and its metabolites, food effects, and adverse events.
| Use case | Dose studied | What was measured |
|---|---|---|
| Lower trial dose | 500 mg/day, 4 months | Hamstring strength vs placebo, alongside a 1,000mg arm (Singh 2022) |
| Higher trial dose | 1,000 mg/day, 4 months | Hamstring strength, peak VO2 and 6-minute-walk distance vs placebo (Singh 2022 high arm) |
| Most-used dose across endurance/exercise trials | 1,000 mg/day, 4-8 weeks to 4 months | Used by Liu 2022, Whitfield 2025, the soccer pilot, and Zhao 2024 as the single dose tested; no lower arm compared in any of these |
| Safety, single dose | Up to 2,000 mg, once | Adverse events and plasma exposure, with and without food (Andreux 2019) |
| Safety, continuous | 1,000 mg/day, up to 4 months | Adverse events across Andreux 2019 (28 days), Singh 2022 and Liu 2022 (4 months each) |
Dose checker: how much urolithin A are you actually taking?
Enter the urolithin A milligrams per serving from your label (look for "Urolithin A ___ mg" on the Supplement Facts panel) and how many servings you take per day. This checker treats free urolithin A and urolithin A diacetate as the same mg number for simplicity — but remember they are different molecules; see the molecular-form disclosure before comparing across products.
How to think about the dose you pick
- 500 mg/day is the lower dose used in Singh 2022, the largest dose-comparison trial in this pack.
- 1,000 mg/day is the dose most endurance-focused trials used. The only dose comparison comes from a single, fully industry-funded trial.
- Don't treat 2000 mg as a daily dose. That figure is a single-dose safety ceiling (Andreux 2019); the longest continuous daily dosing tested at any amount is 1,000mg/day for 4 months.
- Molecular form matters as much as milligrams. Every trial dose above refers to free urolithin A. Urolithin A diacetate has never itself been dosed in a human trial — see the molecular-form breakdown before assuming a diacetate product's mg is equivalent.
- Pregnant or breastfeeding? There is no data at all for urolithin A in this population. Check with a clinician.
Picks by dose and molecule
Full comparison, including why neither product is a clean trial match, is on best urolithin A.
Mitopure-branded, bundled with resveratrol and CoQ10. Two servings a day would reach 500mg, the lower trial dose.
Never itself tested in a human trial — do not assume dose-equivalence to the 1000mg free-urolithin-A trials.
Of 2 products tracked; ranked by molecular-form disclosure, never commissions.
Frequently asked questions
What doses have human trials used?
Trials used 500mg or 1,000mg a day. Safety studies went up to 2,000mg as a single dose and 1,000mg a day for 4 months. These are research doses, not recommendations.
Did trials compare 1,000mg with 500mg?
One trial (Singh 2022) compared 500mg, 1,000mg and placebo. It has not been repeated head-to-head elsewhere.
What is known about 2,000mg of urolithin A?
It was studied as a single dose (Andreux 2019). There is no data on taking 2,000mg daily; the longest continuous dosing tested at any amount is 1,000mg/day for 4 months.
Is there a urolithin A RDA or upper limit?
No. Not an essential nutrient, so no RDA or official UL exists. Trial doses and safety data are reference points, not regulatory limits.
Related
- Urolithin A: what it is & the funding count
- Best urolithin A — the honest retail-landscape guide
- Urolithin A research — what was studied and who funded it
Sources
- Andreux PA, Blanco-Bose W, Ryu D, et al. "The mitophagy activator urolithin A is safe and induces a molecular signature of improved mitochondrial and cellular health in humans." Nat Metab. 2019. PMID: 32694802 (single-dose up to 2,000mg; 28-day multiple ascending dose).
- Singh A, D'Amico D, Andreux PA, et al. "Urolithin A improves muscle strength, exercise performance, and biomarkers of mitochondrial health in a randomized trial in middle-aged adults." Cell Rep Med. 2022. PMID: 35584623 (500mg vs 1,000mg, 4 months).
- Liu S, D'Amico D, Shankland E, et al. "Effect of Urolithin A Supplementation on Muscle Endurance and Mitochondrial Health in Older Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial." JAMA Netw Open. 2022. PMID: 35050355 (1,000mg/day, 4 months).
- Full product dataset: /urolithin-a/cost-by-brand.json (CC BY 4.0).