Bergamot and Heart–Metabolic Wellness: A Science-Based Overview

What Is Bergamot?

Bergamot (Citrus bergamia) is a citrus fruit traditionally cultivated along the coast of Calabria in southern Italy, where the climate and soil create ideal growing conditions.

Many people recognize its fragrant oil as the flavor in Earl Grey tea, but the fruit itself is not usually eaten fresh.

Instead, extracts from its juice and peel are used in foods, beverages, and supplements for their potential wellness benefits.

So, why don’t people eat bergamot like other citrus fruits?

 

There are a few reasons:

1. Strong bitterness & acidity

Bergamot has an intensely bitter and sour taste, far stronger than lemon or grapefruit, with a sharp citrus aroma that is floral and slightly spicy.

2. High essential oil content

The peel and pulp are rich in natural aromatic oils. While these oils contribute to its fragrance, they can be irritating to the digestive system if consumed in large amounts.

3. Less juicy pulp

Unlike oranges or lemons, bergamot’s flesh is relatively dry and not especially enjoyable to eat as fresh fruit.

 

Because of these characteristics, bergamot is most often used in processed forms — such as teas, marmalades, flavorings, or standardized extracts.

Bergamot has been studied across several areas of health.

One area of particular interest is heart and metabolic wellness—including markers related to lipids, glucose, and blood pressure. 

 

While we will discuss the human evidence in more detail shortly, here’s our key takeaway from the available research:

1. Blood lipids: 

Our comprehensive review finds consistent evidence that bergamot can play a supportive role in maintaining healthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

2. Blood sugar and pressure: 

The early results are mixed, and we’ll need more research before saying for sure how much support bergamot may offer in these areas.

 

For this reason, our main focus in this article is on bergamot’s supportive role in blood lipid health.

 

How It Works in the Body

Bergamot is naturally rich in plant compounds—particularly a group of flavonoids called flavanones—including brutieridin and melitidin.

These flavanones are unusual because they’re rarely found in other citrus fruits and they’ve drawn scientific interest for their potential to help maintain a healthy balance of blood lipids.

Beyond flavanones, bergamot contains other polyphenols, pectins, limonoids, and essential oils.

Together, these natural compounds may work in complementary ways to support heart and metabolic wellness. Research suggests they may play roles in antioxidant activity and supporting healthy lipid metabolism (Table 1).

 

Table 1. How Bergamot’s Natural Compounds May Support Healthy Blood Lipids

 

What Does the Human Research Show?

Just like we did with berberine, here we take a close look at high-quality studies on bergamot.

These include published randomized controlled trials (RCTs), where bergamot is directly compare to a placebo or to other supplement ingredient(s), looking at blood lipid markers in people.

We also review meta-analyses of these RCTs, which combine data across multiple studies to give a big-picture view of the overall evidence.

Our comprehensive review of the scientific literature conducted across 2024 to early 2025 identified at least* one meta-analysis of RCTs[1] examining bergamot’s role in supporting healthy blood lipid levels.

This analysis included five RCTs and found that bergamot extracts may help maintain healthy blood lipid balance.

 

What Looks Encouraging

• Lipid balance across key markers: Bergamot appears to support healthy levels of total cholesterol, LDL, HDL (“good” cholesterol), and triglycerides
• Consistency across RCTs: All the included studies in this RCT showed some degree of supportive effect for healthy lipid levels
• Relative strength among natural approaches: Among natural approaches studied for lipid wellness, bergamot’s supportive role stands out as a promising candidate[2]

What More Research Can Clarify

• Different bergamot extracts: In the meta-analysis, three of the five RCT studies tested BPF® (Bergamot Polyphenolic Fraction), which currently has the most robust evidence in our opinion.
• Dosage ranges: Most evidence so far comes from around 1,000mg daily dosage, although evidence-based effective dose in support of maintaining normal blood lipid ranges from 500 to 1,300mg.* Safety guidance of our flagship product EVYLO provided by NSF during our Contents Certified evaluation indicated that daily intake of bergamot extract should not exceed 1,000 mg, as research on higher daily amounts is currently limited.
• Broader populations: Many studies have been conducted in Italy. More diverse research across different countries and populations would help confirm whether results are consistent across groups

* Dosage ranges are drawn from human RCTs. Individual needs may vary, and no official daily requirement for bergamot has been established.

 

Beyond the RCTs included in the meta-analysis, researchers have also studied and published various forms of bergamot and bergamot-containing supplements.[3],[4]

These add to the growing body of research on how bergamot may play a supportive role in maintaining healthy lipid levels.

That said, not all bergamot extracts or supplements are the same.

Extracts can differ widely in composition and in how they are processed, which may influence their effect.

Assuming they are would be like comparing apples to oranges.

If you are considering a bergamot-containing supplement, we strongly recommend you to carefully review the available research behind the specific extract used.

 

A Brief Note on Bergamot, Blood Sugar, and Blood Pressure Balance

Blood sugar support

Some human RCTs suggest that bergamot may help support healthy fasting blood glucose levels.[5],[6]

However, for longer-term measures such as hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c)—which reflects average blood sugar levels over time—we did not find evidence available at this point.

In fact, other published human RCTs report no effect of bergamot-containing supplements on normal blood sugar balance.[7],[8]

To date, no meta-analysis has been published in this area.

Taken together, the mixed results and absence of pooled evidence mean it’s too early to draw firm conclusions about bergamot’s role in blood sugar support.

 

Blood pressure support

You know what?

There actually is a meta-analysis of human RCTs looking at bergamot and blood pressure.[9]

But!

Here’s the twist: the data they pulled from the two original RCTs don’t match the findings in those studies.

The individual RCTs themselves didn’t show that bergamot supported normal blood pressure.

However, the way the numbers were extracted data made it look otherwise.

On top of that, the two studies used very different bergamot-containing formulations—so even if the data had been reported correctly, it would be like mistaking tea for coffee.

Although not my original intention, this ended up as a good reminder: it’s always worth looking carefully at how a meta-analysis was done.

If the data going in aren’t accurate, the conclusions coming out may not be either (“garbage in, garbage out”).

With where the science stands today, I remain uncertain about bergamot’s ability to support healthy blood pressure.

Still, I look forward to following future research on bergamot in the areas of blood sugar and pressure support.

 

Final Words

All that being said, I am genuinely excited about bergamot’s unique potential to support overall heart and metabolic wellness, particularly in the areas of maintaining healthy cholesterol and triglyceride balance.

For those considering supplements as part of their approach to general heart or metabolic  wellness, some bergamot-containing products (especially those using the BPF® extract) may be worth exploring. 

It’s always a good idea to review the science behind each product and to discuss supplement use with a qualified health professional.

If you would like us to dive deeper into any specific bergamot-related topics—or if there are other areas of nutrition and natural health you are curious about—please let us know.

Your feedback helps us keep our content relevant, evidence-informed, and useful.

Here’s to our continued health, balance, and well-being.

Thank you for letting us be part of your journey—take good care of yourself!

 

Sincerely,

Derek Tang, PhD, MS, BSPharm

Truth Full Health

Your Trusted Supplement Partner

 

Disclaimer: All blogged content is for informational purposes only and does not replace professional medical advice. Statements made about vitamins or supplements (officially called “dietary supplements”) have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dietary supplements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before beginning any new supplement, diet, or lifestyle program. To comply with FDA and FTC requirements, we summarize published research for general educational purposes only and do not make disease-treatment claims or unsubstantiated statements about any product. We encourage readers to review the cited studies and to contact us with general questions; we cannot provide individualized medical advice.

 

[1] Title: The effect of bergamot (KoksalGarry) supplement on lipid profiles: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. First author: H. Sadeghi-Dehsahraei. Journal: Phytotherapy Research. Year of publication: 2022.

[2] Title: A network meta-analysis on the comparative effect of nutraceuticals on lipid profile in adults. First author: T. Osadnik. Journal: Pharmacological Research. Year of publication: 2022.

[3] Title: Bergamot Reduces Plasma Lipids, Atherogenic Small Dense LDL, and Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Subjects with Moderate Hypercholesterolemia: A 6-Months Prospective Study. First author: P. P. Toth. Journal: Frontiers in Pharmacology. Year of publication: 2016.

[4] Title: Citrus bergamia Extract, a Natural Approach for Cholesterol and Lipid Metabolism Management: A Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. First author: A. Spina. Journal: Foods. Year of publication: 2024.

[5] Title: Hypolipemic and hypoglycaemic activity of bergamot polyphenols: from animal models to human studies. First author: V. Mollace. Journal: Fitoterapia. Year of publication: 2011.

[6] Title: Hypoglycemic and hypolipemic effects of a new lecithin formulation of bergamot polyphenolic fraction: A double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. First author: V. Mollace. Journal: Endocrine, Metabolic & Immune Disorders Drug Targets. Year of publication: 2019.

[7] Title: No effect of fenugreek, bergamot, and olive leaf extract on glucose homeostasis in patients with prediabetes: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study. First author: M. Florentin. Journal: Archives of Medical Science – Atherosclerotic Diseases. Year of publication: 2019.

[8] Title: Effects of 12-week supplementation of Citrus bergamia extracts-based formulation CitriCholess on cholesterol and body weight in older adults with dyslipidemia: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. First author: Y. Cai. Journal: Lipids in Health and Disease. Year of publication: 2017.

[9] Title: The Effect of Herbal Supplements on Blood Pressure: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
First author: A. Lipert. Journal: Antioxidants. Year of publication: 2022