Best Liver Supplements in 2026: 6 Products Compared

Last updated: October 4, 2026 · Originally published September 7, 2026 · Published by Eternal Elixir

Edited by Elaine Fletcher, Researcher

The best liver supplements in 2026 are single, clearly dosed actives whose labels let you work out the cost of a day: TUDCA, standardized milk thistle (silymarin) and reduced glutathione. We compared six US products on dose, cost per day and what each brand publishes about testing, using each brand’s own page in September 2026. Our pick is Eternal Elixir TUDCA 500mg: 500mg of TUDCA in one capsule and 60 servings per bottle, at $1.00 a day. For the lowest cost per day, NOW Milk Thistle Extract Double Strength is $0.30.

Search results for liver supplements tend to name the same few ingredients and then point you at a marketplace listing. Few tell you what a bottle costs per day, what dose is in each capsule, or whether the brand publishes a certificate you can read. This comparison does, and it is plain about what the research can and can’t support.

Best liver supplements compared: cost per day, dose and testing

Prices are one-time prices on each brand’s own site, as of Sep 2026. Cost per day is the price divided by the label servings in the bottle, never by capsules, because three of these six use a multi-capsule serving.

The range runs from $0.30 to $1.33 a day. Milk thistle is cheap because the raw material is inexpensive and the serving is one capsule. TUDCA costs more to make. Among the three TUDCA products, the daily cost is within 7 cents, so the choice comes down to capsule count, servings per bottle and testing.

TUDCA, milk thistle and glutathione: what each one is

TUDCA (tauroursodeoxycholic acid) is a bile acid. The body makes small amounts of it by joining the bile acid UDCA to the amino acid taurine. Bile acids help carry fats through digestion, and TUDCA is more water soluble than UDCA. Supplement TUDCA is made in a lab. Double Wood describes its process as starting from cholic acid, converting it to UDCA and joining it to taurine. Historically, UDCA was first found in bear bile, which is why brands now state that their TUDCA is synthetic.

Milk thistle is a plant whose fruit and seeds contain a group of flavonoids called silymarin. Good extracts are standardized, meaning the label states how much silymarin is in the extract. NOW’s is 80%, so 300 mg of extract carries 240 mg of silymarin. A label that gives only the weight of raw milk thistle, with no silymarin figure, tells you much less.

Glutathione is a small peptide of three amino acids and the most abundant antioxidant the body makes. Supplements come as plain reduced glutathione, which is the form in our capsule and in the six-month trial, or as liposomal forms that cost more per gram.

These three work in different ways, so they aren’t interchangeable. A bile acid, a plant flavonoid and an antioxidant peptide each have their own evidence, and none of that evidence carries over from one to the others.

What liver supplements can and can’t do: the human evidence

The research behind every ingredient here is narrower than the marketing suggests. The strongest trials ran in people with diagnosed conditions under medical supervision, or they measured a biomarker rather than how people felt or fared. Here is where each ingredient stands.

TUDCA

The largest randomized trial of tauroursodeoxycholic acid, published in Medicine in 2016, enrolled 199 patients in China with a diagnosed bile-duct condition. They took 250 mg of TUDCA three times a day (750 mg in total) or the same amount of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), the standard bile acid drug, for 24 weeks. After 24 weeks, 75.97% of the TUDCA group and 80.88% of the UDCA group had cut a liver enzyme marker by more than 25%, a difference that was not statistically significant. The authors concluded TUDCA was safe and worked about as well as UDCA in that population.

Two limits follow. It was a patient population under medical care, so it says nothing about TUDCA in a healthy person. And the dose was 750 mg a day, more than the 500mg single serving on our label and most others. Our product page says both things. We mapped the gap between trial doses and label doses across the category in our supplement dose gap report, and our TUDCA supplement comparison goes deeper on this one ingredient.

Milk thistle (silymarin)

Milk thistle is the most researched herb in the category and the one with the most mixed results. The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health summarizes the trials in people with liver conditions as conflicting or too limited to allow conclusions, and notes that two studies it funded found no benefit from silymarin. It also says milk thistle taken by mouth appears well tolerated, with bloating, nausea and gas the most common side effects. What silymarin offers is a long safety record, a standardized dose and a low price, not a proven effect.

Glutathione and NAC

Glutathione is the main antioxidant the body makes itself. In a six-month trial published in the European Journal of Nutrition in 2015, 54 healthy non-smoking adults took 250 mg or 1,000 mg of oral glutathione a day, and glutathione levels in blood and cells rose at both doses compared with baseline. That is a real finding about a biomarker, not about liver function. Our glutathione supplement comparison covers the absorption question, including trials that found no change. N-acetylcysteine (NAC), which the body uses to make glutathione, is also often named for liver support. We don’t sell NAC and didn’t rank it here.

None of these products is a substitute for medical care. If you have symptoms, abnormal blood work or a diagnosis, see a doctor before you buy a supplement.

How we ranked these six

Eternal Elixir makes TUDCA 500mg and Reduced L-Glutathione 2000mg. TUDCA 500mg is our pick and sits first. The other brands are ordered on the same checks, read from each brand’s own page:

• A declared dose you can verify. A named active with milligrams per serving, not a blend total.
• Cost per day. Price divided by label servings.
• Testing you can read. A lot-numbered certificate of analysis on the page counts for more than a “third-party tested” badge.
• Capsule count and servings per bottle. One capsule a day is easier to keep up than three, and a bottle that lasts two months means fewer reorders.

What we did not do: we ran no lab tests on any product, and nobody here took six liver supplements and compared results. Where a page didn’t publish enough to work out a figure, we say so.

The 6 best liver supplements, reviewed

1. Eternal Elixir TUDCA 500mg: our pick

TUDCA 500mg holds 500mg of tauroursodeoxycholic acid per capsule, and the label serving is one capsule. A bottle holds 60 capsules, so 60 servings, for $59.99, which is $1.00 a day. The full ingredient list is three items: TUDCA, rice flour and a cellulose capsule.

Why it ranks first: it is one of only two products here with a full 500mg TUDCA dose in a single capsule, and it has twice as many servings per bottle as the other TUDCA products. That means one capsule a day and a reorder every two months instead of every month. The capsule is plant cellulose, where Double Wood’s is gelatin. The product page is also careful about evidence: it says the TUDCA trial it links was in a diagnosed patient population, and that the finished product has not been clinically tested.

Who it suits: people who have decided on TUDCA at 500mg, want one capsule a day, and would rather reorder less often.

Who it doesn’t suit: anyone looking for the lowest daily cost, where milk thistle is far cheaper and the other TUDCA products are 3 to 7 cents a day cheaper. The page doesn’t link a lot-numbered certificate the way Double Wood’s does.

2. NOW Milk Thistle Extract Double Strength 300 mg: lowest cost per day

Each capsule holds 300 mg of milk thistle extract from the fruit and seeds, standardized to 240 mg of silymarin (80%), plus 100 mg of dandelion root and 50 mg of artichoke extract. The label says to take one capsule one to three times a day. The 100-capsule bottle is $29.99, or $0.30 a day at one capsule, and the 200-capsule bottle is $49.99. A 50-capsule bottle costs $15.99, and a 90-capsule size is sold in stores only.

Who it suits: first-time buyers who want the most researched liver-support herb at the lowest cost per day. Our NOW Foods review covers the brand’s testing and range.

Who it doesn’t suit: anyone who wants a single ingredient, since the capsule also contains dandelion and artichoke, or anyone who wants a lot-numbered certificate on the page. And milk thistle has the most mixed trial record of the ingredients here.

3. Double Wood TUDCA: most testing detail on the page

Double Wood’s supplement facts panel lists a serving of 2 capsules with 500 mg of TUDCA, and 30 servings per bottle. The label says to take 2 capsules a day on an empty stomach, and the page says not to exceed 4 capsules a day. One bottle is $27.95, or $0.93 a day. Two- and three-bottle packs cost $53.11 and $75.47. The page says the TUDCA is fully synthetic, made from cholic acid rather than from any animal, and that the raw material is sourced in China. The capsule is bovine gelatin.

The page shows results for lot 2534500, manufactured in February 2026 and tested by Brand Nutraceuticals: 525.16 mg of TUDCA per serving against a 450 to 550 mg claim range, plus capsule weight, disintegration, four heavy metals and microbial tests, with a link to the full certificate. You can match that lot number to your bottle. More in our Double Wood Supplements review.

Who it suits: buyers who want TUDCA with a batch report they can check, at the lowest TUDCA cost per day here.

Who it doesn’t suit: people who want one capsule a day or a vegetarian capsule. A bottle lasts 30 days.

4. Nutricost TUDCA: cheapest way to try TUDCA

Nutricost sells TUDCA in three versions on one page: 250 mg capsules in bottles of 30 ($19.97) or 60 ($27.97), and 500 mg capsules in bottles of 30 ($28.97). Each capsule is one serving. The 500 mg bottle works out to $0.97 a day, and the 250 mg, 30-capsule bottle is the lowest outlay in this comparison. The page says the capsules are tested by independent ISO-accredited labs and made in a GMP-compliant facility, and Nutricost offers a 60-day money-back guarantee.

Who it suits: first-time TUDCA buyers who want to spend under $20 to find out whether it belongs in their routine. See our Nutricost review for how the brand prices its range.

Who it doesn’t suit: anyone who wants a lot-numbered certificate on the page, or more than 30 servings in a 500 mg bottle. Reaching 500 mg a day with the 250 mg capsules costs about $0.93 a day on the 60-capsule bottle, and the 30-capsule bottle lasts only 15 days at that dose.

5. NOW Liver Refresh: multi-ingredient blend

Liver Refresh is the one blend here. A serving is 3 capsules, and the 90-capsule bottle holds 30 servings for $25.99, which is $0.87 a day. Each serving includes the same 300 mg milk thistle extract standardized to 240 mg of silymarin as the standalone product, plus 200 mg of reduced glutathione and a list of other herbs and nutrients. A 180-capsule bottle is $47.99. The label says to take the 3 capsules daily with food.

Who it suits: people who want milk thistle and glutathione in one bottle and don’t mind three capsules a day.

Who it doesn’t suit: anyone paying mainly for the silymarin, which costs nearly three times as much per day here as in the standalone capsule. The other ingredients are present in amounts that haven’t been tested for any effect on their own.

6. Eternal Elixir Reduced L-Glutathione 2000mg: highest glutathione dose

Reduced L-Glutathione 2000mg holds 2,000mg of reduced glutathione per 2-capsule serving, so 1,000mg per capsule, with only rice flour and a cellulose capsule besides. A 60-capsule bottle is $39.99, or $1.33 a serving. One capsule matches the 1,000mg daily dose that raised glutathione stores in the six-month trial, and at one capsule a day the bottle lasts 60 days.

Who it suits: people who have chosen glutathione and want the studied dose in one capsule.

Who it doesn’t suit: anyone who wants the lowest daily cost. At the full label serving it is the most expensive per day here, and oral glutathione’s absorption is still debated.

TUDCA head to head: our capsule, Double Wood and Nutricost

The daily costs are close. Ours costs 3 to 7 cents a day more, and in exchange you get a two-month bottle and one capsule a day in a cellulose shell. Double Wood is the one to choose if a lot-numbered certificate matters most to you. Multi-bottle orders of ours save 10% on two bottles, 15% on three and 20% on five, which brings our daily cost to $0.90 on two bottles and $0.80 on five.

Can you work out the cost per day from the page?

We asked one question of every product: using only what the brand publishes on its own page, can a shopper work out what one day costs? That takes three facts: price, capsules per bottle and capsules per serving.

• Eternal Elixir TUDCA 500mg and Reduced L-Glutathione 2000mg: all three on the page. Yes.
• NOW Milk Thistle Extract and Liver Refresh: the count is in the size name and the serving is on the facts panel. Yes.
• Nutricost TUDCA: yes, once you pick the right strength and bottle size, because one page lists three versions.
• Double Wood TUDCA: the serving and servings per container appear on the supplement facts image rather than in the page text, but the image is on the page. Yes, with a closer look.

Check the capsule count and servings per container before you check for badges. It is the arithmetic that lets you compare prices fairly.

What to look for on a liver supplement label

• A named active with milligrams. “TUDCA 500 mg” or “silymarin 240 mg” tells you what you are buying. “Liver support blend 1,200 mg” doesn’t.
• Standardization for herbs. For milk thistle, look for a silymarin percentage or milligram figure.
• The source for TUDCA. Look for a statement that it is synthetic, as Double Wood’s page gives. If a label doesn’t say, ask the brand.
• The capsule material. Cellulose capsules suit vegetarians. Gelatin capsules come from animals.
• A certificate you can open. A lot-numbered certificate that matches the code on your bottle is the strongest proof of what is inside.
• No dramatic promises. A liver product that promises fast or dramatic results is claiming more than any study supports.

How to take a liver supplement

Follow the label on the product you buy. Directions differ: Double Wood says to take its TUDCA on an empty stomach, NOW says to take Liver Refresh with food, and NOW’s milk thistle label allows one capsule one to three times a day. No trial has shown that the time of day changes what these ingredients do. The trials that found changes gave the ingredient daily for months, so consistency matters more than timing. Take one product at a time so you know what each one is doing, and keep your doctor informed, especially if you have regular blood tests.

Supplements that can harm the liver

People searching for liver supplements often ask which supplements can damage the liver. A 2024 study in JAMA Network Open by researchers at the University of Michigan named the six botanicals most often reported in cases of supplement-related liver injury: turmeric or curcumin, green tea extract, Garcinia cambogia, black cohosh, red yeast rice and ashwagandha. Using national survey data from 9,685 adults, it estimated that about 15.6 million US adults had taken at least one of them in the previous 30 days.

That doesn’t mean these herbs are unsafe for everyone. It does mean that more is not better with botanicals, and that a product sold for liver support can contain ingredients with their own liver risk. Read the full ingredient list of any blend, avoid stacking several concentrated botanicals, and tell your doctor about every supplement you take. If you notice yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine or unusual tiredness while taking any supplement, stop and see a doctor.

Matching a liver supplement to your situation

You want TUDCA in one capsule and fewer reorders: our TUDCA 500mg, one capsule a day, 60 servings.

You want the lowest cost per day: NOW Milk Thistle Extract, $0.30 a day at one capsule.

You want TUDCA with a batch report: Double Wood TUDCA, $0.93 a day.

You want to try TUDCA for under $20: Nutricost’s 250 mg, 30-capsule bottle.

You want glutathione at the studied dose: one capsule of our Reduced L-Glutathione 2000mg.

You want one bottle with several ingredients: NOW Liver Refresh, accepting a higher cost per day for the silymarin.

Where liver support fits in a wider routine

Most people buying a liver supplement add it to a routine that already has a few products. If liver support sits inside a broader metabolic goal, our berberine comparison covers that category, with our Berberine HCl 500mg as the in-house option. For longevity, see the longevity supplement comparison and our guide to longevity supplement stacks, where NMN 500mg and Ca-AKG 500mg often appear. For energy, the mitochondrial supplement comparison fits better, and men comparing several categories may find our guide to supplements for men over 40 useful.

One caution: start one product at a time. Add four in the same week and you can’t tell which one did anything. Give each one 8 to 12 weeks before you judge it.

The verdict: which liver supplement to buy

• Our pick: Eternal Elixir TUDCA 500mg, $59.99, one capsule a day, 60 servings.
• Lowest cost per day: NOW Milk Thistle Extract Double Strength, $0.30 a day.
• TUDCA with a batch report: Double Wood TUDCA, $0.93 a day.
• Cheapest way to try TUDCA: Nutricost TUDCA, from $19.97.
• One bottle, several ingredients: NOW Liver Refresh, $0.87 a day.
• Glutathione: Eternal Elixir Reduced L-Glutathione 2000mg, 1,000mg per capsule.

None of these stands in for medical care. Buy them for what the label says, at a price you have checked, from a brand that shows its work. You can browse the full Eternal Elixir range, return to the Eternal Elixir home page, or read more supplement guides on the Eternal Elixir blog.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most highly rated liver supplement?

Star ratings on brand sites aren’t comparable across brands, so we rank on label facts instead. On those, our pick is Eternal Elixir TUDCA 500mg: 500mg of TUDCA in one capsule, 60 servings per bottle, $1.00 a day. Eternal Elixir makes it. For the lowest cost per day, NOW Milk Thistle Extract Double Strength is $0.30.

Add TUDCA 500mg to cart · $59.99

Do any liver supplements really work?

It depends what you mean by work. TUDCA performed about as well as a standard bile acid drug on a liver enzyme marker in 199 patients with a diagnosed condition, and oral glutathione raised glutathione stores over six months in healthy adults. Milk thistle trials have been mixed. No trial shows that a supplement improves liver health in a healthy adult.

Which is the best supplement for your liver?

There is no single best one for everyone. If you want TUDCA, our pick is Eternal Elixir TUDCA 500mg for its one-capsule, 60-serving bottle. If cost decides it, standardized milk thistle is the cheapest and most studied option. If you have symptoms or a diagnosis, see a doctor before choosing any supplement.

What supplements can damage your liver?

A 2024 study of US survey data named the six botanicals most often reported in supplement-related liver injury: turmeric or curcumin, green tea extract, Garcinia cambogia, black cohosh, red yeast rice and ashwagandha. That doesn’t make them unsafe for everyone, but it is a reason to avoid stacking concentrated botanicals and to tell your doctor what you take.

How long should you take a liver supplement before judging it?

The trials that found changes ran for 24 weeks (TUDCA) and six months (glutathione), and they measured lab markers rather than anything people could feel. Give a product 8 to 12 weeks and change one thing at a time.

Should a first-time buyer start with milk thistle or TUDCA?

If cost decides it, milk thistle: it costs about a third as much per day and is the most studied herb in the category. If you want a bile acid specifically, choose TUDCA. Our TUDCA 500mg gives the full 500mg in one capsule.

Is TUDCA better than milk thistle?

Neither has been shown better for healthy adults, because neither has trials of liver outcomes in healthy people. TUDCA’s best trial was in patients with a diagnosed condition, and milk thistle’s trials in people with liver conditions have been mixed. Milk thistle costs less per day. TUDCA suits people who want a bile acid specifically.

Is TUDCA made from bear bile?

Double Wood’s page says its TUDCA is fully synthetic, made in a lab from cholic acid. UDCA was first found in bear bile, which is why the question comes up. If a TUDCA label doesn’t state the source, ask the brand before you buy.

Can you take TUDCA and milk thistle together?

Many people do, and Double Wood’s page suggests pairing TUDCA with milk thistle. No trial has tested the two together, so there is no evidence that the pair does more than either alone. If you combine them, start one first, add the second a few weeks later, and check with your doctor if you take any medication.

Is it safe to take a liver supplement every day?

The trials behind these ingredients gave them daily, for 24 weeks for TUDCA and six months for glutathione, and milk thistle is generally well tolerated by mouth. Those trials were short compared with years of use. Stick to the label serving, don’t stack several products with the same ingredient, and review your routine with your doctor at your regular checkups.

What should you not take with a liver supplement?

Don’t combine a new liver supplement with prescription medication without checking first. Bile acids and concentrated botanicals can affect how the body handles some drugs, so anyone taking medicines for cholesterol, blood sugar, blood thinning, or a liver or gallbladder condition should ask a pharmacist or doctor first. The same applies if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Sources

1. Ma H, Zeng M, Han Y, et al. A multicenter, randomized, double-blind trial comparing the efficacy and safety of TUDCA and UDCA in Chinese patients with primary biliary cholangitis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2016;95(47):e5391. PMID 27893675
2. Richie JP Jr, Nichenametla S, Neidig W, et al. Randomized controlled trial of oral glutathione supplementation on body stores of glutathione. European Journal of Nutrition. 2015;54(2):251-63. PMID 24791752
3. Likhitsup A, Chen VL, Fontana RJ. Estimated exposure to 6 potentially hepatotoxic botanicals in US adults. JAMA Network Open. 2024;7(8):e2425822. PMID 39102266
4. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Milk thistle.
5. Brand product pages, read September 2026: NOW Milk Thistle Extract Double Strength, Double Wood TUDCA, Nutricost TUDCA, NOW Liver Refresh.
6. Eternal Elixir product labels: TUDCA 500mg and Reduced L-Glutathione 2000mg.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.