Micronised and ultramicronised
Palmitoylethanolamide is a fat-like solid that does not dissolve in water. Makers grind it into smaller particles on the theory that smaller particles dissolve and absorb faster. The trade names Normast, Glialia and Pelvilen are all micronised or ultramicronised forms from one maker, Epitech Group.
The terms
- Unmicronised, or “naive”. Plain powder. In the rat study below the particles measured 100 to 2,000 micrometres.
- Micronised (PEA-m). Particles of roughly 2 to 10 micrometres, according to Schifilliti 2014, which used this form.
- Ultramicronised (PEA-um, um-PEA). Particles of roughly 0.8 to 6 micrometres, according to Petrosino 2018.
- Co-ultramicronised. Two compounds ground together, as in PEA-luteolin (Glialia) and PEA-polydatin (Pelvilen). See combination products.
- Dispersion forms such as Levagen+ take a different route: a coating rather than grinding. See Levagen and dispersion technology.
Evidence that particle size matters
One animal study. Petrosino 2018 gave rats a single labelled dose of plain or ultramicronised powder. The ultramicronised form reached a peak plasma level five times higher, within five minutes, and produced more of the expected anti-inflammatory effect. The authors themselves caution that tissue levels may not map simply onto effects.
No head-to-head comparison in people. Gabrielsson 2016, an independent review, found no human study comparing micronised with unmicronised forms, so no evidence that one works better than another in patients. Rankin and Fowler 2020 reached the same conclusion four years later. Nothing in this database published since changes that.
Which form the trials used
Most of the Italian human trials used a micronised or ultramicronised Epitech product. Examples: Guida 2010 (micronised, 636 patients), Andresen 2016 (ultramicronised, no effect found), Cocito 2024 and Steardo 2026 (ultramicronised). The Australian and Gencor-funded trials used Levagen or Levagen+. Some earlier and non-Italian trials do not say which form they used.
Search the database for micronised to list every entry that names a particle-size form. The doses table shows the form beside each dose where the paper stated it.
What this means for reading a label
A product label that says micronised or ultramicronised is describing a manufacturing step. It is not describing a clinical result. The trial evidence for each form is the trial evidence for the product tested, listed on this site under its own name.