DHM (Dihydromyricetin)
The flavonoid in more than half of all hangover products. Convincing in rodents, thin in humans — and it targets acetaldehyde, which the newer evidence suggests isn't what actually makes you feel terrible.
Strong preclinical story, weak human story, and a target that may be the wrong one. Rodent data on ADH/ALDH upregulation and GABA-A antagonism is consistent. Human trials are small, largely on combination products, mostly from one research orbit, and the systematic reviews conclude no product in this category has demonstrated efficacy. Effects, if any, are same-night.
Dihydromyricetin is a flavonoid from Hovenia dulcis (Japanese raisin tree) and vine tea, used in Chinese medicine for alcohol-related complaints for centuries. In rodents it is genuinely impressive: it speeds ethanol and acetaldehyde clearance by upregulating ADH and ALDH, and it antagonises the GABA-A receptor, which counteracts alcohol's sedation and withdrawal-like rebound. It is by far the dominant ingredient in the commercial hangover category — a 2025 analysis of the US market found it in 52.6% of products. The human evidence has not caught up. Most trials are small, short, use combination products rather than isolated DHM, rely on self-reported symptom scales, and come from a narrow set of research groups; the systematic reviews that have looked at the whole category conclude efficacy is not established for any product on the market. There is also a mechanism problem that no amount of trial size fixes: DHM's headline action is clearing acetaldehyde, and the inflammation work suggests hangover severity tracks blood ethanol, IL-6 and TNF-α rather than acetaldehyde — which is undetectable by the time most people feel worst. Reasonable to try, unreasonable to expect much, and worth knowing you are paying for the most-marketed rather than the best-evidenced ingredient.
Key studies
- The alcohol hangover product market of the United States (Verster et al., 2025) — Surveyed the products actually on sale — 46 of them — and found DHM the single most common ingredient at 52.6%. Their conclusion on the category is the one to hold onto: efficacy to prevent or reduce hangover has not been demonstrated for any product on the US market.
- Clinical evaluation of Hovenia dulcis extract combinations (Foods, 2024) — The best recent human data, and note what it actually is: 25 people, crossover, testing Hovenia extract and a Hovenia + kudzu combination rather than isolated DHM. Gastrointestinal symptoms improved against placebo; blood alcohol was lower in the first half-hour. Encouraging, small, and not independently replicated.
- Form
- Sold as isolated DHM (typically 98% from vine tea) or as Hovenia dulcis extract, which is the whole-plant source. Check which you're buying — a '1,200 mg vine tea extract, 98% DHM' label is a real, stateable dose; a proprietary blend listing DHM among four other things is not.
- Dose
- 300–1,200 mg. Human trials cluster around 300–600 mg of extract; commercial products go to ~1,200 mg. There is no established dose-response in humans, so higher is a guess rather than a strategy.
- Timing
- Before drinking, or with the last drink. The proposed mechanism is metabolic, so taking it the morning after — when the ethanol is already gone — has no rationale at all.
- Schedule
- Occasional, on drinking nights. Not a daily supplement.
- Side effects
- Well tolerated in the short trials that exist. Mild GI upset. Long-term safety data in humans is essentially absent, which matters more than it sounds for something people take repeatedly.
- Interactions
- GABA-A activity is the one to think about: DHM antagonises the receptor that benzodiazepines, z-drugs, gabapentinoids and alcohol itself act on. Nobody has studied that combination properly.
- Contraindications
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding (no data). Liver disease — the marketing is liver-protective, the evidence is rodent-level, and a damaged liver is not the place to test it.
- Lab markers
- None specific. ALT/AST if you are drinking enough to be asking the question.
- Food sources
- Vine tea (Ampelopsis grossedentata) and Japanese raisin tree. Both are traditional beverages, at doses far below the capsules.
Pairs with
L-cysteine — the other half of most commercial hangover formulas, and the one with an actual (if tiny) randomised trial. Prickly pear extract, which targets the inflammation that the newer evidence implicates rather than the acetaldehyde this does. See the hangover guide for how the category stacks up.
within Polyphenols & antioxidants