Grape seed extract
The polyphenol-rich extract of grape seeds, taken mostly for blood pressure and circulation.
- Blood pressure and circulation
- Antioxidants
- Cholesterol and blood fats
- Menopausal symptoms
- Thinking and memory
A plain-English overview, not advice. Written from published reviews and trials and from what people say in public forums.
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On this page
What is grape seed extract?
Grape seed extract is made from the seeds left over when grapes are pressed, so its raw material is a by-product of an industry that already exists. The skin and seeds are unusually rich in polyphenols, above all in a family called proanthocyanidins, which is what the extract is concentrated for and what labels put a percentage against. Grapes are among the most widely eaten fruits in the world, and the vine has a long history in European traditional practice, where the leaves and the sap were used as well as the fruit. The same seeds also yield a culinary oil, which is sold separately and is a different product.
Why do people take grape seed extract?
Blood pressure and circulation
The thinking. Blood pressure and the general state of the circulation are what most people reach for grape seed extract about, and it is where the research has gathered. The idea is that the polyphenols in the seed act on the lining of blood vessels, so arteries stay springier.
What research has found. One review of sixteen trials in 810 adults found the upper number about 6 mmHg lower and the lower number nearly 3 mmHg lower, with bigger falls in younger and heavier participants. A later review of nineteen trials found the lower number and heart rate down but the upper number unchanged, and single trials range from a clear fall to none at all. Studies here point in different directions, so this one is still being worked out; the dose, how long people took it and who took part all seem to matter.
Antioxidants
The thinking. Plenty of people take grape seed extract for nothing more specific than that it is sold as an antioxidant, the seed being one of the richest everyday sources of these polyphenols. The thinking is that they take reactive molecules out of circulation before those molecules damage fats and cell structures.
What research has found. This is measured in blood tests rather than in how anyone feels. A review of twenty-three studies found average falls in two markers of fat damage and in one inflammation marker, no change in two others, and a borderline rise in overall antioxidant capacity. A separate trial in thirty-two adults with obesity reported lower oxidative stress. The studies disagree, so this is unsettled: dose, duration and who took part all seem to shift the result.
Cholesterol and blood fats
The thinking. Grape seed extract turns up in routines aimed at the heart, often after a cholesterol test came back higher than someone hoped. Reviews of grape polyphenols group blood fats with blood sugar and blood pressure as the things they appear to act on.
What research has found. A pooled analysis of fifty trials reported small average falls in total and LDL cholesterol, in triglycerides, in fasting blood sugar and in an inflammation marker, with no change in HDL cholesterol or body measurements. Two trials in adults with raised blood fats, of fifty-two and seventy people, found total and LDL cholesterol lower after eight weeks. Another review found the falls only in particular groups. Results here go both ways, which usually means the dose, the length of a trial or the group taking part makes the difference.
Menopausal symptoms
The thinking. Hot flushes, broken sleep and a flat, anxious patch send many women looking for something to take, and grape seed extract is one of the suggestions. The thinking leans on the same vascular and antioxidant ideas as the rest of the research, not on anything hormonal.
What research has found. One pilot trial gave ninety-six women aged forty to sixty a low dose, a higher dose or a dummy tablet for eight weeks. Physical symptom, hot flush and sleep scores fell in the higher-dose group by eight weeks; anxiety and both blood pressure numbers fell in both dose groups by four weeks. Few studies have measured this yet, so there is little to go on either way.
Thinking and memory
The thinking. Grape seed extract appears in routines built around keeping the mind sharp, usually as part of a general antioxidant approach. The idea follows from the rest of the research: if these polyphenols act on blood vessels and on oxidation, the brain might show it.
What research has found. One trial gave sixty healthy adults aged eighteen to thirty either 400 mg of a grape seed polyphenol extract or a dummy capsule, and tested memory, attention and reaction time hours after a dose and again at six and twelve weeks. No consistent pattern emerged either way; a few measures moved on the extract and a few on the dummy. Very little research has measured this so far, either way.
What does grape seed extract do in the body?
Grape seed extract is not a nutrient the body needs, and it has no job of its own to do. What it brings is a concentrated dose of polyphenols, above all proanthocyanidins, which sit in the flavonoid family alongside catechin and the procyanidins. Inside the body these behave as antioxidants, taking reactive molecules out of circulation before they can damage fats and cell structures.
The second part happens at the wall of a blood vessel. Laboratory work on the cells lining human vessels found grape seed polyphenols lowering two of the signals those cells release when irritated or narrowing, which is the route by which a swallowed capsule might change a blood pressure reading, an artery’s stiffness, or how readily it widens. Reviews group blood pressure, blood sugar and blood fats as the things grape polyphenols seem to act on, and say the active compounds and the pathways are still being pinned down.
What do people say about taking grape seed extract?
These are anecdotes people have shared, not evidence.
What people like
- Across four threads only three people described actually taking it, so the picture is thin; most posts are questions rather than reports.
- The few who had taken it were positive in general terms: one called the change remarkable, another felt calmer with better memory.
- Nobody described a result they had measured themselves; the one improved test result mentioned was a friend’s, not the poster’s own.
Common complaints
- No one in these threads reported a side effect of their own, and nobody described stopping because of how it made them feel.
- The worry raised most often was medicines: several posts wondered whether it thins the blood or lowers blood pressure too far.
- A couple of posters found the loose powder messy and impossible to measure accurately at home, and concluded capsules were easier.
How people take it
- Capsules are the usual form, taken once or twice a day with food, one poster splitting the dose between breakfast and dinner.
- The daily amounts people mention run from 100 mg once a day up to 400 mg twice a day, a wide spread.
- Checking with a doctor or pharmacist before starting is mentioned repeatedly, and in one thread moderators and other posters both press the point.
- Which make to buy comes up often, with posters weighing cost against quality and asking each other what they use.
Read from these public discussions:
- Grape Seed Extract (Patient.info (Women's health), 2016)
- Grape seed extract and Bilberry anyone using these? (HealthUnlocked (Kidney Disease))
- Can Oligomeric Proanthocyanadins (OPC's) be of any benefit? (HealthUnlocked (Adult ADHD support))
- Grape Seed extract and BP tablets? (Patient.info (Heart health and blood vessels), 2015)
What forms of grape seed extract are there?
| Form | What’s different | Per serving, on products we list |
|---|---|---|
| Grape seed extract | Grape seeds ground and concentrated, usually standardised so proanthocyanidins make up about 95 per cent. | 66.7 mg |
What else is worth knowing about grape seed extract?
- Most of these trials were in adults who already had something raised: blood pressure at the top of the normal range, raised cholesterol, or extra weight.
- On thinning the blood, the one trial that looked measured how readily platelets clumped together and found no change over eight weeks.
- Where trials commented on tolerance they called it safe; in the longest, running a year, four people taking it had side effects, all digestive.
- Labels give the amount per serving, which may be more than one capsule, and usually a proanthocyanidin percentage. Grape seed oil, pressed from the same seed, is a different product.
If you take medication, are pregnant, or have a health condition, check with a pharmacist or GP first.
The research behind this page (20 studies)
- The effect of grape (Vitis vinifera) seed extract supplementation on flow-mediated dilation, blood pressure, and heart rate: A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials with duration- and dose-response analysis. (2022, meta-analysis)
- The impact of grape seed extract treatment on blood pressure changes: A meta-analysis of 16 randomized controlled trials. (2016, meta-analysis)
- Grape Seed Extract Positively Modulates Blood Pressure and Perceived Stress: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study in Healthy Volunteers. (2021, randomised trial)
- Effects of Grape Seed Proanthocyanidin Extract on Vascular Endothelial Function in Participants with Prehypertension: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study. (2019, randomised trial)
- Effects of grape seed extract beverage on blood pressure and metabolic indices in individuals with pre-hypertension: a randomised, double-blinded, two-arm, parallel, placebo-controlled trial. (2016, randomised trial)
- Effect of polyphenol-rich grape seed extract on ambulatory blood pressure in subjects with pre- and stage I hypertension. (2013, randomised trial)
- The effect of grape seed extract supplementation on oxidative stress and inflammation: A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials. (2021, meta-analysis)
- Effect of the intake of resveratrol, resveratrol phosphate, and catechin-rich grape seed extract on markers of oxidative stress and gene expression in adult obese subjects. (2012, randomised trial)
- Efficacy of Bilberry and Grape Seed Extract Supplement Interventions to Improve Glucose and Cholesterol Metabolism and Blood Pressure in Different Populations-A Systematic Review of the Literature. (2021, systematic review)
- The effects of grape seed extract on glycemic control, serum lipoproteins, inflammation, and body weight: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. (2020, meta-analysis)
- The effect of red grape seed extract on serum paraoxonase activity in patients with mild to moderate hyperlipidemia. (2016, randomised trial)
- Red grape seed extract improves lipid profiles and decreases oxidized low-density lipoprotein in patients with mild hyperlipidemia. (2013, randomised trial)
- Effects of grape seed proanthocyanidin extract on menopausal symptoms, body composition, and cardiovascular parameters in middle-aged women: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study. (2014, randomised trial)
- Grape seed polyphenol extract and cognitive function in healthy young adults: a randomised, placebo-controlled, parallel-groups acute-on-chronic trial. (2022, randomised trial)
- A Reference List of Phenolic Compounds (Including Stilbenes) in Grapevine ( Vitis vinifera L.) Roots, Woods, Canes, Stems, and Leaves. (2020, review)
- Grape seed extract: having a potential health benefits. (2020, review)
- Review of the Pharmacological Effects of Vitis vinifera (Grape) and its Bioactive Constituents: An Update. (2016, review)
- Grape Seed Oil Compounds: Biological and Chemical Actions for Health. (2016, review)
- Grapes (Vitis vinifera) as a Potential Candidate for the Therapy of the Metabolic Syndrome. (2016, review)
- Antifungal Activity of Phenolic and Polyphenolic Compounds from Different Matrices of Vitis vinifera L. against Human Pathogens. (2020, review)
How much does grape seed extract cost?
That depends on the form and the pack, so we work out the price of the same dose of every grape seed extract product we can find and rank them.