Key points at a glance Liposomes are tiny vesicles with a shell made of phospholipids. They carry water-soluble substances in their core and fat-soluble ones in their shell. The shell is structured in a similar way to the membranes of our body's cells. In the digestive tract, some of the liposomes are broken down, while others reach the gut. Exactly how absorption works there has not yet been fully established. For vitamin C, blood levels were higher with the liposomal form in almost all comparative studies. How a liposome is structured A liposome is a spherical vesicle, far too small to see with the naked eye. Its shell consists of one or more bilayers of phospholipids.1 These are fat-like building blocks with two different ends: one is attracted to water, the other avoids it. In the bilayer, the water-loving ends point outwards and inwards. Between them lies a thin, fatty zone. This creates two places for nutrients: water-soluble substances such as vitamin C sit in the watery core, while fat-soluble ones such as coenzyme Q10 are embedded in the shell.1 Why the shell resembles cell membranes Every cell in our body is also surrounded by a membrane. Its basic framework is likewise a bilayer of phospholipids. Liposomes are therefore made of the same group of substances, arranged in a similar way. This is why the scientific literature compares their shell to natural cell membranes.2,3 This similarity has a downside: liposomes are delicate.3 This is most apparent on their way through the digestive tract. What happens in the stomach and gut Once swallowed, liposomes encounter stomach acid, bile salts and digestive enzymes. Some of them are broken down in the process, while others reach the gut.2 Keeping liposomes stable along the way is considered a major challenge in research.4 Research describes several ways in which liposomes can support absorption. Their shell can protect the contents along the way and come into close contact with the intestinal lining. Some can also be absorbed via the lymphatic system.4 There is one caveat, though: exactly how absorption in the gut works has not yet been fully established.2 There is also a lack of human studies that directly observe how liposomes behave in the digestive tract.3 What can be measured well, however, is the result: how much of a substance reaches the bloodstream. What studies on absorption into the blood show A 2025 review assessed ten human studies comparing liposomal with conventional vitamin C. In nine of them, vitamin C blood levels were higher with the liposomal form.5 However, the studies varied widely in formulation and dose.5 One example is a study by Purpura and colleagues involving 27 healthy adults.6 It compared 500 mg of vitamin C in liposomal and conventional form. The peak level in blood plasma was 27% higher with the liposomal form, and more vitamin C was also found in the white blood cells.6 The group was small, and the study was funded by a manufacturer. All the studies mentioned were carried out with liposomal formulations from various manufacturers. Their results therefore describe liposomal forms in general. 9 out of 10comparative studies found higher blood levels with liposomal vitamin C.5 27%higher peak level in blood plasma with liposomal vitamin C, with the same dose of 500 mg.6 Good to know: Liposomal is not the same as high-strength. The term describes how a nutrient is packaged, not how much of it there is. In the Purpura study, both forms contained the same amount of vitamin C; only the form was compared.6 You can find out how much a supplement contains per daily serving on the label. Frequently asked questions What exactly do the studies on liposomal vitamin C measure?They measure how much vitamin C reaches the blood plasma after it is taken, and in some studies also the white blood cells. This makes it possible to compare how well different forms are absorbed. Does the difference only appear shortly after taking it?Not only. In the study by Purpura and colleagues, the amount of vitamin C in blood plasma was also 21% higher overall with the liposomal form when measured over 24 hours.6 Sources Akbarzadeh A, Rezaei-Sadabady R, Davaran S, et al. (2013). Liposome: classification, preparation, and applications. Nanoscale Research Letters 8:102. DOI He H, Lu Y, Qi J, Zhu Q, Chen Z, Wu W (2019). Adapting liposomes for oral drug delivery. Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 9(1):36-48. DOI Rudzińska M, Grygier A, Knight G, Kmiecik D (2024). Liposomes as Carriers of Bioactive Compounds in Human Nutrition. Foods 13(12):1814. DOI Daeihamed M, Dadashzadeh S, Haeri A, Akhlaghi MF (2017). Potential of Liposomes for Enhancement of Oral Drug Absorption. Current Drug Delivery 14(2):289-303. DOI Carr AC (2025). Do Liposomal Vitamin C Formulations Have Improved Bioavailability? A Scoping Review Identifying Future Research Directions. Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology 137(1):e70067. DOI Purpura M, Jäger R, Godavarthi A, Bhaskarachar D, Tinsley GM (2024). Liposomal delivery enhances absorption of vitamin C into plasma and leukocytes: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial. European Journal of Nutrition 63(8):3037-3046. DOI
