Alpha-Lipoic Acid Dosage: 600 mg/day (and Why That's 300 mg Active R)
Take 600 mg a day, the lowest dose in the trials we cite. That is two capsules of our pick. Those trials studied nerve pain from diabetes, with mixed results. Regular ALA mixes two mirror-image forms, R and S, so 600 mg holds 300 mg of R-ALA.
Based on published research, not medical advice. Have diabetes, take diabetes medicine, or are pregnant? Ask your doctor first.
Ready to buy:
BulkSupplements Alpha Lipoic Acid600 mg in 2 capsules, for $0.22 a day. Why it is our pick.
Costs are brand prices, checked October 19, 2026.
Which alpha-lipoic acid is right for you?
Look for 600 mg a day, and check how many capsules that takes. These are two good ones.
Want one on a testing list? Two capsules.
Thorne Alpha-Lipoic Acid is on NSF/ANSI 173, which checks the capsule holds what the label says. Each capsule has 300 mg, so 600 mg is two capsules, at $1.37 a day at Thorne’s price.
Thorne Alpha-Lipoic Acid
300 mg a capsule · NSF/ANSI 173
Want one capsule a day?
NOW has 600 mg in one capsule, for $0.27 a day at iHerb’s price. It also adds grape seed extract and black pepper extract.
NOW Alpha Lipoic Acid 600 mg
600 mg in 1 capsule
What “600 mg” on a label can mean
Some bottles say 600 mg on the front but hold 300 mg or 200 mg per capsule, so a serving is two or three capsules. Read the Supplement Facts panel for the milligrams in one capsule.
Taking diabetes medicine? Ask first.
ALA may lower blood sugar (Akbari 2018). If you take insulin or another diabetes medicine, ask your doctor before you start.
How much alpha-lipoic acid per day
Trials of ALA by mouth for nerve pain in people with diabetes gave 600, 1,200 or 1,800 mg a day, and symptom scores moved more at higher doses (Hsieh 2023). The 2024 Cochrane review found ALA by mouth probably has little or no effect on nerve symptoms after six months (Baicus 2024). See what the research found.
How to take it
- Take 600 mg a day: two 300 mg capsules or one 600 mg capsule.
- Ask your doctor before taking more, or if you have diabetes.
Work out your daily alpha-lipoic acid
Enter the numbers from your label. You will see your mg a day, and the R-ALA in it, against 600 mg, the lowest dose in the trials we cite.
Questions people ask
Does 600 mg mean 600 mg of R-ALA?
No. Regular ALA is a 50/50 mix of R and S, so 600 mg holds 300 mg of R. A 100 mg R-ALA capsule holds 100 mg of R. We found no trial showing R-ALA works better per milligram.
Is a higher dose better?
Not clearly. Cochrane found little effect either way (Baicus 2024). Start with 600 mg, and talk to your doctor before taking more.
Related guides
- Best alpha-lipoic acid: the products we compared, ranked
- Alpha-lipoic acid guide: what it is, what the research found, and safety
Sources
- Hsieh RY, et al. “Effects of Oral Alpha-Lipoic Acid Treatment on Diabetic Polyneuropathy: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review.” Nutrients. 2023. PubMed 37630823
- Baicus C, et al. “Alpha-lipoic acid for diabetic peripheral neuropathy.” Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2024. PubMed 38205823
- Akbari M, et al. “The effects of alpha-lipoic acid supplementation on glucose control and lipid profiles among patients with metabolic diseases: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.” Metabolism. 2018. PubMed 29990473