Nootropics—10 Popular Ingredients for Brain Nutrition

author: Photo: The New York Times

2023-06-15

What is Nootropics?
Nootropics (also known as: brain supplements, cognitive boosters, smart drugs etc.) that claim to bring brain nutrition and improve cognitive functions (such as focus, concentration, memory, creativity, brain health).
The "smart drug" can be found as prescription or non-prescription (such as dietary supplements, energy drinks) in diverse countries. Today this article will focus on the latter.

Why people take nootropics? Potential Benefits
we intake some nutrients to help brain function properly by balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats, in daily life. But some nutrients from the foods we eat may affect our brain health and can increase the risk for neurodegenerative disease.
Food like green leafy vegetables, berries, nuts, whole grains, fish, poultry, beans and olive oil can help boost brain health.

However, it may be a necessary for those people whose diets may be inadequate in these nutrients (i.e., those with absorption issues or who are adhering to restricted diets) to take supplements to fill any nutrient gaps in the diet. Nootropics are also attractive to professionals preparing for a promotion, students achieve excellence in exams, or older people worried about dementia).

Romanian psychologist and chemist, Corneliu E. Giurgea synthesised Piracetam, which he has described as a nootropic in 1964. He coined the term 'nootropic' in 1972.
According to his statement, there are 5 characteristics for qualified nootropics:

Improve learning and memory;
Protect the brain health;
Resist the effects of external stimuli on cognitive function;
Enhance thinking and attention;
Safe and low/no toxicity with few side effects.

Some popular ingredients for nootropics in the market

Caffeine

Caffeine has a variety of advantageous effects on the brain. It can boost wellbeing and alertness, aid in concentration, elevate mood, and lessen depressive symptoms.

In cases of headache and migraine, caffeine can enhance the effects of conventional analgesic medications. Long-term coffee/caffeine consumption has been linked to a lower chance of acquiring stroke, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and cognitive decline.

According studies, 200mg-400mg/day is not harmful. But those who are sensitive to caffeine may experience sleep disruption and anxiety.

L-Theanine

L-Theanine (also known as -glutamylethylamide), an amino acid in green tea, which has been found to improve mood, reduce stress, and support regular sleep patterns. Studies have shown that l-theanine may help to increase attention, which would improve working memory and executive functioning.

While there is no recommendation or upper limitation dosage, 100mg-250mg/day is a daily doses used in studies showing its effects on cognitive function.

Alpha-GPC 400mg-1200mg

Administration of alpha-GPC promotes learning and memory by increasing the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Alpha-GPC supplementation improves endurance and growth hormone secretion in athletes while preventing the decline in choline levels brought on by exercise.

Citicoline 500mg-1000mg/day
Citicoline (CDP-Choline) is an intermediate in the metabolic process that helps convert choline into the phosphatidylcholine that is found in cell membranes. In particular, the cells of the organs of both humans and animals naturally contain citicline.

Numerous studies have clearly demonstrated the potential significance of citicoline in cognitive impairment caused by a variety of etiologies. Additionally, it raises SIRT1 expression in the central nervous system and modulates the expression and activity of several protein kinases linked to neuronal death.

Magnesium
According to the results of these studies, Mg facilitates learning in the treatment of dementia and contributes to improvement in other symptoms.
The daily dosage is 310mg-320mg/day for women and 400mg-430mg/day for men.

Resveratrol 500mg-1500mg/day

resveratrol has shown its positive effects on protecting the central nervous system an on human cognitive decline. It can also act on multiple cellular targets and thus have various biological effects, potentially useful in elderly comorbidities. Study shows that use NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide) and resveratrol together may could increase the NAD+ levels in the heart and muscle tissue.

Ergothioneine (L-EGT) 5mg-30mg/day
EGT is approval of a novel food in EU and Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) in USA, wildly used as dietary supplement and cosmetic products.

ERGO can control neuronal differentiation, neurogenesis, and microglial activation, and also protects against neurotoxicity induced by pathogenic proteins or chemicals, including Aβ and anticancer medications.

Ashwagandha 300mg-1000mg
Study shows Ashwagandha supplement improved memory and focus, psychological well-being, and sleep quality, reduced stress levels, and was safe and well-tolerated

Phosphatidylserine (PS) 300mg-500mg
Study shows that PS facilitates the activation of signaling proteins and receptors that are critical for neuronal survival, differentiation and synaptic neurotransmission.

Acetyl-L-Carnitine 600mg/day
Some researches demonstrated that people who took ALC supplement had much better mood and attention, improved speed, and quality of memory.

How to choose right nootropics?
Please always consult your doctor or health care professional before taking any new supplement to make sure it is safe and won’t interact with other medications you’re already have.

Meanwhile, it’s a wise choice to buy qualified ingredients or supplements from a reputable sources, which are accordance with manufacturing standard and provide third-party testing or other reliable information. Know more details, click here.

Reference:

C. Giurgea and C.M. Salama, Nootropic drugs, Prog Neuro-Psychopharmacol 1 (1977), 235–247.
Giurgea CE, Greindl MG, Preat S (1983). "Nootropic drugs and aging". Acta Psychiatr Belg. 83 (4): 349–58. PMID 6660010
Dr Astrid Nehlig (2015). Effects of coffee/caffeine on brain health and disease: What should I tell my patients? Pract Neurol. 2016 Apr;16(2):89-95. doi: 10.1136/practneurol-2015-001162. Epub 2015 Dec 16
Yoshitake Baba, Shun Inagaki, Sae Nakagawa etc. all. (2021) J Med Food. 2021 Apr;24(4):333-341. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2020.4803. Epub 2021 Mar 22.
Adam G Parker,Allyn Byars,Martin Purpura etc.all (2015). J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2015; 12(Suppl 1): P41.Published online 2015 Sep 21. doi: 10.1186/1550-2783-12-S1-P41
Pietro Gareri, Alberto Castagna, Antonino Maria Cotroneo etc. all (2015). the role of citicoline in cognitive impairment: pharmacological characteristics, possible advantages, and doubts for an old drug with new perspectives. Journal List Clin Interv Aging v.10; 2015 PMC4562749
Takahiro Ishimoto , Yukio Kato(2022). Ergothioneine in the brain. FEBS Lett. 2022 May;596(10):1290-1298. doi: 10.1002/1873-3468.14271. Epub 2022 Jan 10.

IMPORTANT: This infomation is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, and it should not be used by anyone who is pregnant or under the care of a medical practitioner. Please consult your physician about which supplements may or may not be right for you.

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