What it is
Regulatory status: dietary supplement ingredient; not an FDA-approved treatment for hypertension or cardiovascular disease
Mechanism evidence: human
At a glance
What it is, why people use it, the evidence, and what to know before trying it.
Why people use it
- Blood-pressure support
- Vascular function
- Antioxidant effects
Evidence at a glance
Standardized grape seed extracts may produce a small blood-pressure reduction in some adults, but trials are short and heterogeneous. Evidence does not support treating an unspecified amount as a proven general cardiovascular supplement.
Confidence: weak
Safety & interactions
Known side effects, interactions and use limits from reviewed sources.
Short studies generally report mild adverse effects, but long-term safety is less certain. Grape seed extract may affect bleeding or blood pressure and can interact with anticoagulant, antiplatelet or antihypertensive therapy.
- Planned surgery without clinician review
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding because safety data are limited
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Dry or itchy scalp
- Anticoagulants and antiplatelet medicines
- Blood-pressure medicines
Forms and variants
This review does not automatically apply to:
- grape skin extract
- resveratrol
- grape-seed oil
- whole grapes