I really like this new Nootropics section, and since there aren't really many threads here, I figured I'll start one up. I'm thinking I'll post up various nootropic supplements, along with what they do, how to dose them, and the research that supports their usage. It can serve as a good reference for people who are new to nootropics, or are just looking to maybe try another nootropic supplement. If anyone else has any good information on nootropics I don't mention ITT (and I certainly can't mention/discuss them all), feel free to add them here. My initial posts may be messy at first, but I'll clean up the links and stuff once I have some studies up. I also list supplements that can help with stress and anxiety. Although these supplements may not be nootropic per se, they can still have great benefits for the same group of people who are interested in nootropic supplements). (note: no, these are not all just pulled from examine.com).
-I'll go back and provide brief keywords/uses/benefits for each supplement before mentioning the studies to make everything simpler/easier to read at some point, that way people can look at the name of a supplement, see what benefits it can provide, and then only read the studies/detailed info if the uses/benefits of said supplement interest them.
Caffeine and Theanine
Given to undergraduate volunteers (18-34 years old), 150mg of caffeine in isolation improved reaction time, perceptions of fatigue, and rapid visual information processing. The addition of 250mg of L-theanine was able to preserve the above benefits of caffeine and improve alertness and further improve reaction time while reducing the ratings of headaches which were increased with caffeine in isolation.
SOURCE: The effects of L-theanine, caffeine and their combination on cognition and mood. - PubMed - NCBI
Given to healthy adults (mean age 28.3 years), 50mg of caffeine improved subjective alertness and accuracy on an attention-switching task. A combination of 50mg of caffeine and 100mg of l-theanine was able to improve accuracy and speed on an attention-switching task as well as reduce susceptibility to distracting information in a memory task.
SOURCE: The combined effects of L-theanine and caffeine on cognitive performance and mood. - PubMed - NCBI
A combination of 40mg caffeine and 97mg l-theanine given to university students (mean age 21.2 years) was able to significantly improve accuracy during task switching, reduce self-reported tiredness, and improve self-reported alertness.
The combination of L-theanine and caffeine improves cognitive performance and increases subjective alertness. - PubMed - NCBI
Caffeine (without theanine)
6mg/kg caffeine (408mg for a 150lb person) given to moderately trained male athletes (mean age 21.6 years) before a simulated-team sport exercise was able to improve total time on a reactive agility test by 2.3%, improve agility time by 3.9%, improve movement time by 2.7%, and improve decision time by 9.3% relative to placebo.
Effect of caffeine on reactive agility time when fresh and fatigued. - PubMed - NCBI
300mg caffeine given to healthy, military reservists (mean age 28 years) prior to a shooting session (low temperature of 26.6 Fahrenheit/-3 Celsius) weather was able to significantly reduce tiredness and cold discomfort compared to placebo.
An Error Occurred Setting Your User Cookie
200mg caffeine given to prior to simulated sentry duty was able to reduce errors in discriminating between friend and foe, and abolished the reduction in speed of target detection with time during the sessions without negatively impacting marksmanship.
https://www.ntis.gov/Search/Home/titleDetail/?abbr=ADA387188
200-300mg caffeine given to NAVY SEAL trainees after 72 hours of sleep deprivation was able to significantly improve reaction time, visual vigilance, repeated acquisition, and measures of mood and alertness relative to placebo without having a negative influence on marksmanship.
The Use of Caffeine to Enhance Cognitive Performance, Reaction Time, Vigilance, Rifle Marksmanship and Mood States in Sleep-Deprived Navy SEAL (BUD/S) Trainees.
200-300mg caffeine given to NAVEY SEAL trainees during Navy SEAL Hell Week was able to significantly improve sighting time relative to placebo without negatively affecting accuracy.
Caffeine effects on marksmanship during high-stress military training with 72 hour sleep deprivation. - PubMed - NCBI
Theanine (without caffeine)
200mg l-theanine given to undergraduate students (age 20-25) was able to lessen the increase in anxiety, stress, and heart rate that resulted from a mental arithmetic task.
L-Theanine reduces psychological and physiological stress responses. - PubMed - NCBI
200mg l-theanine given to University Students (age 18-20 years) with high anxiety was able to increase visual attentional performance, improve reaction time (reaction time decreased-improved- in subjects taking l-theanine after 15, 30, and 60 minutes, with a maximum improvement of over 15% while reaction time actually increased-worsened- in subjects who received placebo after 15 and 30 minutes, with a maximum worsening of over 5%) and reduce heart rate during visual attention and audio response tests. In the same study, subjects with low anxiety who received l-theanine also noted decreases-improvements- in reaction time at 15, 30, and 60 minutes, with a maximum improvement of over 5%, while low-anxiety subjects who received placebo actually noted increased-worsened- reaction times at 15, 30, and 60 minutes, with a maximum worsening of about 5%.
Rhodiola Rosea
170mg of Rhodiola Rosea (containing approximately 4.5mg salidroside) given to healthy physicians (age 24-35) during night duty for 2 weeks was able to significantly reduce fatigue and improved performance (as assessed by the fatigue index) by approximately 20%.
SOURCE: http://www.curador.net/index_fr/rosea/Darbinyan.pdf
50mg of Rhodiola Rosea (containing approximately 1.4mg salidroside) taken twice daily given to male students (age 17-19) during an examination period at a Medical Academy for 20 days was able to improve psychomotoric function by 75% more than placebo, and, in a neuro-motoric maze test designed to measure accuracy vs speed, the Rhodiola supplementing group made a 50% improvement compared to the placebo. Additionally, a follow-up study (of the exams taken just after the end of the main study) found that the average exam score was 8.43% higher in the Rhodiola supplementing group compared to the placebo group.
SOURCE: http://www.curador.net/indexnl/rosea/Spasov.SHR-5.students.2000.pdf
370 or 555mg of Rhodiola Rosea (containing 9.0 and 13.5mg salidroside) given to military cadets (age 19-21) for 5 days showed pronounced anti-fatigue effects and was able to improve the perception of general wellbeing. There does not appear to be a significant difference in the effectiveness of the two doses used in this study.
SOURCE: http://www.curador.net/indexfr/rosea/Shevtsov.SHR-5.2003.pdf
144mg of Rhodiola Rosea (containing approximately 3.3mg salidroside) given to students attending the Honors College of a University (mean age 23.3 years) for 1 week was able to significantly reduce experienced level of fatigue by 39%, compared to 4% with placebo, and reduce experienced stress by 19%, compared to 10% with placebo.
SOURCE: The influence of adaptogens on ultraweak biophoton emission: a pilot-experiment. - PubMed - NCBI
170mg of Rhodiola Rosea (containing 30mg salidroside) given twice daily to adults aged 18-64 years (mean age 44 years) with general anxiety disorder for 10 weeks was able to significantly improve general anxiety disorder symptoms and also reduce Hamilton Anxiety Rating scale scores (indicative of less anxiety).
Ashwagandha
300mg of Ashwagandha (containing 4.5mg withanolides) taken twice daily for 12 weeks by people with moderate to severe anxiety (for longer than 6 weeks) as part of naturopathic treatment, was able to significantly reduce anxiety (as measured by the Beck Anxiety Inventory [BAI]) compared to standardized psychotherapy intervention. The BAI scores (higher scores are associated with greater anxiety) in the ashwagandha supplementing group decreased by 56.5% compared to only 30.5% in the group not supplementing with ashwagandha. The ashwagandha supplementing group also noticed greater improvements in mental health, concentration, fatigue, social functioning, vitality, and overall quality of life compared to the group not supplementing with ashwagandha.
SOURCE: Naturopathic Care for Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Trial ISRCTN78958974
300mg of Ashwagandha (containing 15mg withanolides) taken twice daily for 60 days by people (age 18-54) with chronic stress was able to significantly reduce stress and serum cortisol levels relative to the placebo group. Specifically, the ashwagandha supplementing group saw a 44% decrease in Perceived Stress Scale compared to a 5.5% decrease in the placebo group, a 72.3% decrease in General Health Questionnaire Scores compared to a 2.3% decrease in the placebo group, a 39.3% decrease in the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale compared to a 2.8% decrease in the placebo group, and a 27.9% decrease in salivary cortisol levels compared to a 7.9% decrease in the placebo group (note: greater decreases are better).
A Prospective, Randomized Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of Safety and Efficacy of a High-Concentration Full-Spectrum Extract of Ashwagandha Root in Reducing Stress and Anxiety in Adults
500mg ashwagandha root extract daily for 8 weeks given to healthy young adults was able to increase VO2 max by 6.9% compared to an increase of 0.2% with placebo, increase average absolute power by 8.8% compared to 1.2% with placebo, increase average relative power by 12%, compared to 0.6% with placebo, an increase balance by 10.7%, compared to no change with placebo.
SOURCE: Effects of Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) and Terminalia arjuna (Arjuna) on physical performance and cardiorespiratory endurance in healthy young adults
1000mg ashwagandha root extract daily for 8 weeks given to elite Indian cyclists was able to increase time to exhaustion by 7.2%, compared to an increase of 0.1% with placebo, and increase VO2 max by 12.6% compared to a decrease of 0.4% with placebo.
SOURCE: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3545242/>
An average of 1000mg ashwagandha root extract daily for 30 days in healthy volunteers was able to increase lean body mass by 4lbs, decrease body fat by 2.27%, and increase quadriceps force by 21.5%.
SOURCE: Exploratory study to evaluate tolerability, safety, and activity of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) in healthy volunteers
500mg ashwagandha extract (containin 50mg withanolides) taken twice daily for 2 weeks in healthy volunteers (age 20-35 years) was able to significantly reduce reaction time relative to placebo. Specifically, the study noted a reduction in mean simple reaction test time by 6%, mean digit symbol substitution test time by 7%, and mean digit vigilance test time by 3% relative to placebo.
Bacopa
300mg bacopa monneiri (55% bacosides) given to adults (mean age 41.6 years) for 90 days was able to improve special working memory accuracy by 5.9%, compared to 2.4% with placebo, and improve working memory CDR factor scores by 3%, compared to 0.6% with placebo.
Examining the nootropic effects of a special extract of Bacopa monniera on human cognitive functioning: 90 day double-blind placebo-controlled rand... - PubMed - NCBI
300-450mg bacopa monnieri (55% bacosides) given to healthy adults (age 40-65 years) for 12 weeks was able to increase the number of pairs of words remembered after a delay by 1.44 pairs (164% increase), compared to 0.82 pairs (139% increase) with placebo.
http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v27/n2/pdf/1395862a.pdf
300mg bacopa monnieri (55% bacosides) given to healthy adults (age 18-60 years) for 12 weeks was able to improve speed of visual information processing, learning rate, and memory consolidation, as well as reduce anxiety relative to placebo.
but apparently 300mg (55% bacosides) didn't have any acute effects on cognitive functioning in healthy people (age 18-60 years).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12404571
I'm not sure if the additional 20mg made a difference, or if there's some other reason. Either way, the research is pretty convincing that bacopa will work after weeks of consistent use, and may have acute effects at 320mg (55% bacosides), so if you're looking for acute effects from your bacopa, you may want to take your daily dose as a single serving as opposed to split servings.
ALCAR
2g ALCAR daily given to persons with chronic fatigue syndrome for 24 weeks was able to significantly improve mental fatigue as well as attention concentration.
Exploratory open label, randomized study of acetyl- and propionylcarnitine in chronic fatigue syndrome. - PubMed - NCBI
Taurine
“Moderate doses of caffeine and taurine can improve information processing in individuals who could not have been in caffeine withdrawal.”
An evaluation of a caffeinated taurine drink on mood, memory and information processing in healthy volunteers without caffeine abstinence. - PubMed - NCBI
“We conclude that taurine should neutralize several untoward effects of caffeine excess.”
Effect of taurine and potential interactions with caffeine on cardiovascular function. - PubMed - NCBI
Pine Bark (Pycnogenol)
100mg pine bark extract (~75% procyanidins) daily for 8 weeks given to healthy students (18-27 years) was able to increase word recall by 3.6 words(58% increase), compared to 0.8 words (11% increase) with placebo, reduced time needed to complete a task by 11.1% compared to a 1.3% reduction with placebo, and reduced the amount of time needed to arrange colored balls in five moves by 20.8%, compared to a 0.7% increase in time with placebo. Additionally, students given pine bark extract failed only 6.3% of college exams taken, while students given placebo failed 10.7% of their exams, meaning that students given placebo were 1.7x as likely to fail an exam as students given pine bark extract. The average score on said exams in the supplement group was 87%, compared to 79.36% with placebo; almost a whole letter grade improvement over placebo.
Pycnogenol® supplementation improves cognitive function, attention and mental performance in students. - PubMed - NCBI
Ornithine
Huperzine-A
CDP-Choline
Kanna (sceletium tortuosum)
Holy Basil (Ocimum sanctum)
American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius)
Piracetam
Kava (Piper methysticum)
-I'm not going to list all of the anti-anxiety studies, just one of the more interesting studies that found that:
90mg kavapyrones is a relatively low dose (studies often use up to 250mg/day kavappyrones), but, personally, I only use kava on occasion.
Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)
-not really something I'd want to take when I want to be alert and energized, but still potentially a nice supplement when used later in the day.
Valerian (a lot of these studies compare valerian to and/or take valerian with kava)
-again, not something I'd want to take when I want to be alert and active, but it is interesting, and may increase the likeliness of having vivid dreams (and this likelihood is apparently potentiated by kava, although kava alone didn't increase the chance of vivid dreams):
Phosphatidylserine (PS)
Coming Soon: Vinpocetine, Glycine, Panax Ginseng, Polygala
-I'll go back and provide brief keywords/uses/benefits for each supplement before mentioning the studies to make everything simpler/easier to read at some point, that way people can look at the name of a supplement, see what benefits it can provide, and then only read the studies/detailed info if the uses/benefits of said supplement interest them.
Caffeine and Theanine
Given to undergraduate volunteers (18-34 years old), 150mg of caffeine in isolation improved reaction time, perceptions of fatigue, and rapid visual information processing. The addition of 250mg of L-theanine was able to preserve the above benefits of caffeine and improve alertness and further improve reaction time while reducing the ratings of headaches which were increased with caffeine in isolation.
SOURCE: The effects of L-theanine, caffeine and their combination on cognition and mood. - PubMed - NCBI
Given to healthy adults (mean age 28.3 years), 50mg of caffeine improved subjective alertness and accuracy on an attention-switching task. A combination of 50mg of caffeine and 100mg of l-theanine was able to improve accuracy and speed on an attention-switching task as well as reduce susceptibility to distracting information in a memory task.
SOURCE: The combined effects of L-theanine and caffeine on cognitive performance and mood. - PubMed - NCBI
A combination of 40mg caffeine and 97mg l-theanine given to university students (mean age 21.2 years) was able to significantly improve accuracy during task switching, reduce self-reported tiredness, and improve self-reported alertness.
The combination of L-theanine and caffeine improves cognitive performance and increases subjective alertness. - PubMed - NCBI
Caffeine (without theanine)
6mg/kg caffeine (408mg for a 150lb person) given to moderately trained male athletes (mean age 21.6 years) before a simulated-team sport exercise was able to improve total time on a reactive agility test by 2.3%, improve agility time by 3.9%, improve movement time by 2.7%, and improve decision time by 9.3% relative to placebo.
Effect of caffeine on reactive agility time when fresh and fatigued. - PubMed - NCBI
300mg caffeine given to healthy, military reservists (mean age 28 years) prior to a shooting session (low temperature of 26.6 Fahrenheit/-3 Celsius) weather was able to significantly reduce tiredness and cold discomfort compared to placebo.
An Error Occurred Setting Your User Cookie
200mg caffeine given to prior to simulated sentry duty was able to reduce errors in discriminating between friend and foe, and abolished the reduction in speed of target detection with time during the sessions without negatively impacting marksmanship.
https://www.ntis.gov/Search/Home/titleDetail/?abbr=ADA387188
200-300mg caffeine given to NAVY SEAL trainees after 72 hours of sleep deprivation was able to significantly improve reaction time, visual vigilance, repeated acquisition, and measures of mood and alertness relative to placebo without having a negative influence on marksmanship.
The Use of Caffeine to Enhance Cognitive Performance, Reaction Time, Vigilance, Rifle Marksmanship and Mood States in Sleep-Deprived Navy SEAL (BUD/S) Trainees.
200-300mg caffeine given to NAVEY SEAL trainees during Navy SEAL Hell Week was able to significantly improve sighting time relative to placebo without negatively affecting accuracy.
Caffeine effects on marksmanship during high-stress military training with 72 hour sleep deprivation. - PubMed - NCBI
Theanine (without caffeine)
200mg l-theanine given to undergraduate students (age 20-25) was able to lessen the increase in anxiety, stress, and heart rate that resulted from a mental arithmetic task.
L-Theanine reduces psychological and physiological stress responses. - PubMed - NCBI
200mg l-theanine given to University Students (age 18-20 years) with high anxiety was able to increase visual attentional performance, improve reaction time (reaction time decreased-improved- in subjects taking l-theanine after 15, 30, and 60 minutes, with a maximum improvement of over 15% while reaction time actually increased-worsened- in subjects who received placebo after 15 and 30 minutes, with a maximum worsening of over 5%) and reduce heart rate during visual attention and audio response tests. In the same study, subjects with low anxiety who received l-theanine also noted decreases-improvements- in reaction time at 15, 30, and 60 minutes, with a maximum improvement of over 5%, while low-anxiety subjects who received placebo actually noted increased-worsened- reaction times at 15, 30, and 60 minutes, with a maximum worsening of about 5%.
Rhodiola Rosea
170mg of Rhodiola Rosea (containing approximately 4.5mg salidroside) given to healthy physicians (age 24-35) during night duty for 2 weeks was able to significantly reduce fatigue and improved performance (as assessed by the fatigue index) by approximately 20%.
SOURCE: http://www.curador.net/index_fr/rosea/Darbinyan.pdf
50mg of Rhodiola Rosea (containing approximately 1.4mg salidroside) taken twice daily given to male students (age 17-19) during an examination period at a Medical Academy for 20 days was able to improve psychomotoric function by 75% more than placebo, and, in a neuro-motoric maze test designed to measure accuracy vs speed, the Rhodiola supplementing group made a 50% improvement compared to the placebo. Additionally, a follow-up study (of the exams taken just after the end of the main study) found that the average exam score was 8.43% higher in the Rhodiola supplementing group compared to the placebo group.
SOURCE: http://www.curador.net/indexnl/rosea/Spasov.SHR-5.students.2000.pdf
370 or 555mg of Rhodiola Rosea (containing 9.0 and 13.5mg salidroside) given to military cadets (age 19-21) for 5 days showed pronounced anti-fatigue effects and was able to improve the perception of general wellbeing. There does not appear to be a significant difference in the effectiveness of the two doses used in this study.
SOURCE: http://www.curador.net/indexfr/rosea/Shevtsov.SHR-5.2003.pdf
144mg of Rhodiola Rosea (containing approximately 3.3mg salidroside) given to students attending the Honors College of a University (mean age 23.3 years) for 1 week was able to significantly reduce experienced level of fatigue by 39%, compared to 4% with placebo, and reduce experienced stress by 19%, compared to 10% with placebo.
SOURCE: The influence of adaptogens on ultraweak biophoton emission: a pilot-experiment. - PubMed - NCBI
170mg of Rhodiola Rosea (containing 30mg salidroside) given twice daily to adults aged 18-64 years (mean age 44 years) with general anxiety disorder for 10 weeks was able to significantly improve general anxiety disorder symptoms and also reduce Hamilton Anxiety Rating scale scores (indicative of less anxiety).
Ashwagandha
300mg of Ashwagandha (containing 4.5mg withanolides) taken twice daily for 12 weeks by people with moderate to severe anxiety (for longer than 6 weeks) as part of naturopathic treatment, was able to significantly reduce anxiety (as measured by the Beck Anxiety Inventory [BAI]) compared to standardized psychotherapy intervention. The BAI scores (higher scores are associated with greater anxiety) in the ashwagandha supplementing group decreased by 56.5% compared to only 30.5% in the group not supplementing with ashwagandha. The ashwagandha supplementing group also noticed greater improvements in mental health, concentration, fatigue, social functioning, vitality, and overall quality of life compared to the group not supplementing with ashwagandha.
SOURCE: Naturopathic Care for Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Trial ISRCTN78958974
300mg of Ashwagandha (containing 15mg withanolides) taken twice daily for 60 days by people (age 18-54) with chronic stress was able to significantly reduce stress and serum cortisol levels relative to the placebo group. Specifically, the ashwagandha supplementing group saw a 44% decrease in Perceived Stress Scale compared to a 5.5% decrease in the placebo group, a 72.3% decrease in General Health Questionnaire Scores compared to a 2.3% decrease in the placebo group, a 39.3% decrease in the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale compared to a 2.8% decrease in the placebo group, and a 27.9% decrease in salivary cortisol levels compared to a 7.9% decrease in the placebo group (note: greater decreases are better).
A Prospective, Randomized Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of Safety and Efficacy of a High-Concentration Full-Spectrum Extract of Ashwagandha Root in Reducing Stress and Anxiety in Adults
500mg ashwagandha root extract daily for 8 weeks given to healthy young adults was able to increase VO2 max by 6.9% compared to an increase of 0.2% with placebo, increase average absolute power by 8.8% compared to 1.2% with placebo, increase average relative power by 12%, compared to 0.6% with placebo, an increase balance by 10.7%, compared to no change with placebo.
SOURCE: Effects of Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) and Terminalia arjuna (Arjuna) on physical performance and cardiorespiratory endurance in healthy young adults
1000mg ashwagandha root extract daily for 8 weeks given to elite Indian cyclists was able to increase time to exhaustion by 7.2%, compared to an increase of 0.1% with placebo, and increase VO2 max by 12.6% compared to a decrease of 0.4% with placebo.
SOURCE: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3545242/>
An average of 1000mg ashwagandha root extract daily for 30 days in healthy volunteers was able to increase lean body mass by 4lbs, decrease body fat by 2.27%, and increase quadriceps force by 21.5%.
SOURCE: Exploratory study to evaluate tolerability, safety, and activity of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) in healthy volunteers
500mg ashwagandha extract (containin 50mg withanolides) taken twice daily for 2 weeks in healthy volunteers (age 20-35 years) was able to significantly reduce reaction time relative to placebo. Specifically, the study noted a reduction in mean simple reaction test time by 6%, mean digit symbol substitution test time by 7%, and mean digit vigilance test time by 3% relative to placebo.
Bacopa
300mg bacopa monneiri (55% bacosides) given to adults (mean age 41.6 years) for 90 days was able to improve special working memory accuracy by 5.9%, compared to 2.4% with placebo, and improve working memory CDR factor scores by 3%, compared to 0.6% with placebo.
Examining the nootropic effects of a special extract of Bacopa monniera on human cognitive functioning: 90 day double-blind placebo-controlled rand... - PubMed - NCBI
300-450mg bacopa monnieri (55% bacosides) given to healthy adults (age 40-65 years) for 12 weeks was able to increase the number of pairs of words remembered after a delay by 1.44 pairs (164% increase), compared to 0.82 pairs (139% increase) with placebo.
http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v27/n2/pdf/1395862a.pdf
300mg bacopa monnieri (55% bacosides) given to healthy adults (age 18-60 years) for 12 weeks was able to improve speed of visual information processing, learning rate, and memory consolidation, as well as reduce anxiety relative to placebo.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23788517Acute BM supplementation (320 or 640mg, 55% bacosides) produced some adaptogenic and nootropic effects (healthy individuals, age 18-44 years)
but apparently 300mg (55% bacosides) didn't have any acute effects on cognitive functioning in healthy people (age 18-60 years).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12404571
I'm not sure if the additional 20mg made a difference, or if there's some other reason. Either way, the research is pretty convincing that bacopa will work after weeks of consistent use, and may have acute effects at 320mg (55% bacosides), so if you're looking for acute effects from your bacopa, you may want to take your daily dose as a single serving as opposed to split servings.
ALCAR
2g ALCAR daily given to persons with chronic fatigue syndrome for 24 weeks was able to significantly improve mental fatigue as well as attention concentration.
Exploratory open label, randomized study of acetyl- and propionylcarnitine in chronic fatigue syndrome. - PubMed - NCBI
Taurine
“Moderate doses of caffeine and taurine can improve information processing in individuals who could not have been in caffeine withdrawal.”
An evaluation of a caffeinated taurine drink on mood, memory and information processing in healthy volunteers without caffeine abstinence. - PubMed - NCBI
“We conclude that taurine should neutralize several untoward effects of caffeine excess.”
Effect of taurine and potential interactions with caffeine on cardiovascular function. - PubMed - NCBI
Pine Bark (Pycnogenol)
100mg pine bark extract (~75% procyanidins) daily for 8 weeks given to healthy students (18-27 years) was able to increase word recall by 3.6 words(58% increase), compared to 0.8 words (11% increase) with placebo, reduced time needed to complete a task by 11.1% compared to a 1.3% reduction with placebo, and reduced the amount of time needed to arrange colored balls in five moves by 20.8%, compared to a 0.7% increase in time with placebo. Additionally, students given pine bark extract failed only 6.3% of college exams taken, while students given placebo failed 10.7% of their exams, meaning that students given placebo were 1.7x as likely to fail an exam as students given pine bark extract. The average score on said exams in the supplement group was 87%, compared to 79.36% with placebo; almost a whole letter grade improvement over placebo.
Pycnogenol® supplementation improves cognitive function, attention and mental performance in students. - PubMed - NCBI
Ornithine
Randomised controlled trial of the effects of L-ornithine on stress markers and sleep quality in healthy workersFifty-two apparently healthy Japanese adults who had previously felt slight stress as well as fatigue were recruited to be study participants and were randomly divided into either the L-ornithine (400 mg/day) or placebo group. They orally consumed the respective test substance every day for 8 weeks. Serum was collected for the assessment of cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate (DHEA-S). Perceived mood and quality of sleep were measured by the Profile of Mood States (POMS), Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), and Ogri-Shirakawa-Azumi sleep inventory MA version (OSA-MA)...
Serum cortisol levels and the cortisol/DHEA-S ratio were significantly decreased in the L-ornithine group in comparison with the placebo group. Also, anger was reduced and perceived sleep quality was improved in the L-ornithine group...
L-ornithine supplementation has the potential to relieve stress and improve sleep quality related to fatigue, both objectively and subjectively.
The Combined Effect of Caffeine and Ornithine on the Mood of Healthy Office WorkersThe subjects were all healthy office workers who ingested the placebo, 100 mg caffeine, or 100 mg caffeine plus 200 mg ornithine in the morning and completed questionnaires about their mood. Office workers who consumed the combination of caffeine and ornithine had higher mood ratings 8 h after consumption than office workers who consumed caffeine alone. The results of the present study suggest that there is a unique synergistic effect between caffeine and ornithine on the mood of healthy office workers and that ornithine may potentiate the effects of caffeine.
Huperzine-A
Huperzine-A capsules enhance memory and learning performance in 34 pairs of matched adolescent students. - PubMed - NCBI4 pairs of junior middle school students complaining of memory inadequacy were divided into two groups by normal psychological health inventory (PHI), similar memory quotient (MQ), same sex and class. The Hup group was administrated orally 2 capsules of Hup (each contains Hup 50 micrograms) b.i.d., and the placebo group was given 2 capsules of placebo (starch and lactose inside) b.i.d. for 4 wk...
At the end of trial, the Hup group's MQ (115 +/- 6) was more than that of the placebo group (104 +/- 9, P < 0.01), and the scores of Chinese language lesson in the Hup group were elevated markedly too...
The Hup capsules enhance the memory and learning performance of adolescent students.
CDP-Choline
Improved Attentional Performance Following Citicoline Administration in Healthy Adult WomenSixty healthy adult women ages 40 - 60 completed a clinical screening visit, including a medical exam. After study enrollment each subject was randomly assigned to one of three groups: a daily oral dose of 250 mg citicoline, 500 mg citicoline, or placebo for 28 days...
After 28 days of supplementation, individuals in the 250 mg group made fewer omission (p = 0.04) and commission (p = 0.03) errors compared to those in the placebo group. Individuals in the 500 mg group made significantly fewer commission errors compared to those in the placebo group (p = 0.03) and trended toward making fewer omission errors (p = 0.07). Conclusion: After 28 days of daily citicoline supplementation, participants who were administered either the 250 mg or the 500 mg citicoline doses showed significantly better ability to produce correct responses on the CPT-II, likely due to improved cognitive inhibition. Our findings suggest that citicoline may improve attentional performance in middle-aged women and may ameliorate attentional deficits associated with central nervous system disorders.
Kanna (sceletium tortuosum)
Proof-of-Concept Randomized Controlled Study of Cognition Effects of the Proprietary Extract Sceletium tortuosum (Zembrin) Targeting Phosphodiester... - PubMed - NCBIZembrin at 25 mg daily dosage significantly improved cognitive set flexibility (P < 0.032) and executive function (P < 0.022), compared with the placebo group. Positive changes in mood and sleep were found. Zembrin was well tolerated.
Acute effects of Sceletium tortuosum (Zembrin), a dual 5-HT reuptake and PDE4 inhibitor, in the human amygdala and its connection to the hypothalamus. - PubMed - NCBI16 healthy participants were scanned during performance in a perceptual-load and an emotion-matching task. Amygdala reactivity to fearful faces under low perceptual load conditions was attenuated after a single 25 mg dose of Zembrin. Follow-up connectivity analysis on the emotion-matching task showed that amygdala-hypothalamus coupling was also reduced. These results demonstrate, for the first time, the attenuating effects of S. tortuosum on the threat circuitry of the human brain and provide supporting evidence that the dual 5-HT reuptake inhibition and PDE4 inhibition of this extract might have anxiolytic potential by attenuating subcortical threat responsivity.
Holy Basil (Ocimum sanctum)
http://www.ijpp.com/IJPP archives/2015_59_1/69-77.pdf/Effect of OS on parameters related to cognition and stress in humans was
evaluated with administration of 300 milligram capsules of ethanolic leaf extracts of Ocimum sanctum (EtOS)
or placebo per day, over 30 days...
Intergroup comparison
revealed a significant improvement of the following cognitive parameters in the EtOS as compared to the
placebo: reaction time (RT) and error rate (ER) of Sternberg test, RT of neutral task of Stroop, RT and ER
of interference task of Stroop.
The intra-group comparison of P300 latency, salivary cortisol, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory showed
improvement over time in the EtOS group alone, though the inter-group difference was significant in the P300
latency alone. There were no changes in heart rate (HR), ΔHR, or galvanic skin response (GSR) or ΔGSR...
Ocimum sanctum leaf extract seems to have potential cognition-enhancing properties in humans.
Controlled programmed trial of Ocimum sanctum leaf on generalized anxiety disorders. (PDF Download Available)Thirty-five subjects (21 male and 14 female; average age 38.4 years) were medicated with the plant extract in a fixed dose regime (500 mg/capsule, twice daily, p.o. after meal). They were thoroughly investigated clinically and using standard questionnaires based on different psychological rating scale at baseline (day 0), mid-term (day 30) and final (day 60). The observations exhibited that, O. sanctum significantly (p<0.001) attenuated generalized anxiety disorders and also attenuated its correlated stress and depression. It further significantly (p<0.001) improved the willingness to adjustment and attention in human. Therefore, it may be concluded that O. sanctum may be useful in the treatment of GAD in human and may be a promising anxiolytic agent in near future.
American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2952762/This randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial (N = 32, healthy young adults) assessed the acute mood, neurocognitive and glycaemic effects of three doses (100, 200 400 mg) of Cereboost™ (P. quinquefolius standardised to 10.65% ginsenosides). Participants' mood, cognitive function and blood glucose were measured 1, 3 and 6 h following administration...
There was a significant improvement of working memory (WM) performance associated with P. quinquefolius. Corsi block performance was improved by all doses at all testing times. There were differential effects of all doses on other WM tasks which were maintained across the testing day. Choice reaction time accuracy and ‘calmness’ were significantly improved by 100 mg. There were no changes in blood glucose levels...
This preliminary study has identified robust working memory enhancement following administration of American ginseng. These effects are distinct from those of Asian ginseng and suggest that psychopharmacological properties depend critically on ginsenoside profiles.
Piracetam
http://nootroo.com/increase-in-the-power-of-human-memory-in-normal-man-though-the-use-of-drugs-piracetam-and-healthy-human-individuals-in-double-blind-study/Nootropyl (Piracetam) a drug reported to facilitate learning in animals was tested for its elect on man by administering it to normal volunteers. The subjects were given 3 x4 capsules at 400 mg per day, in a double blind study. Each subject learned series of words presented as stimuli upon a memory drum. No effects were observed after 7 days but after 14 days verbal learning had significantly increased
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10555876Global complexity of 47-channel resting electroencephalogram (EEG) of healthy young volunteers was studied after intake of a single dose of a nootropic drug (piracetam, Nootropil UCB Pharma) in 12 healthy volunteers. Four treatment levels were used: 2.4, 4.8, 9.6 g piracetam and placebo. Brain electric activity was assessed through Global Dimensional Complexity and Global Omega-Complexity as quantitative measures of the complexity of the trajectory of multichannel EEG in state space. After oral ingestion (1-1.5 h), both measures showed significant decreases from placebo to 2.4 g piracetam. In addition, Global Dimensional Complexity showed a significant return to placebo values at 9.6 g piracetam. The results indicate that a single dose of piracetam dose-dependently affects the spontaneous EEG in normal volunteers, showing effects at the lowest treatment level. The decreased EEG complexity is interpreted as increased cooperativity of brain functional processes.
Kava (Piper methysticum)
-I'm not going to list all of the anti-anxiety studies, just one of the more interesting studies that found that:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15181652In healthy persons who never used Kava, a single dose of 300mg containing 30% kavapyrones (90mg) taken an hour before testing was able to increase cheerfulness (as assessed by CH rating on the SCTI rating scale) and was slightly more effective in those with higher baseline cheerfulness.
Reductions in reaction time (Steinberg item recognition rask) from 2092.5ms to 1265.29ms and enhanced performance on Sperling partial report test were both seen with significance.
A trend towards reduction of seriousness was noted, but not statistically significant. -examine.com analysis
90mg kavapyrones is a relatively low dose (studies often use up to 250mg/day kavappyrones), but, personally, I only use kava on occasion.
Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)
-not really something I'd want to take when I want to be alert and energized, but still potentially a nice supplement when used later in the day.
http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v28/n10/full/1300230a.htmlThe cognitive and mood effects of single doses of the most cholinergically active dried leaf were then assessed in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, balanced crossover study. Following the in vitro analysis, 20 healthy, young participants received single doses of 600, 1000, and 1600 mg of encapsulated dried leaf, or a matching placebo, at 7-day intervals. Cognitive performance and mood were assessed predose and at 1, 3, and 6 h postdose using the Cognitive Drug Research computerized assessment battery and Bond–Lader visual analog scales, respectively...
The most notable cognitive and mood effects were improved memory performance and increased 'calmness' at all postdose time points for the highest (1600 mg) dose. However, while the profile of results was overwhelmingly favorable for the highest dose, decrements in the speed of timed memory task performance and on a rapid visual information-processing task increased with decreasing dose. These results suggest that doses of Melissa officinalis at or above the maximum employed here can improve cognitive performance and mood
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15272110In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, balanced crossover experiment, 18 healthy volunteers received two separate single doses of a standardized M. officinalis extract (300 mg, 600 mg) and a placebo, on separate days separated by a 7-day washout period. Modulation of mood was assessed during predose and 1-hour postdose completions of a 20-minute version of the Defined Intensity Stressor Simulation (DISS) battery. Cognitive performance on the four concurrent tasks of the battery was also assessed...
The results showed that the 600-mg dose of Melissa ameliorated the negative mood effects of the DISS, with significantly increased self-ratings of calmness and reduced self-ratings of alertness. In addition, a significant increase in the speed of mathematical processing, with no reduction in accuracy, was observed after ingestion of the 300-mg dose...
These results suggest that the potential for M. officinalis to mitigate the effects of stress deserves further investigation.
Valerian (a lot of these studies compare valerian to and/or take valerian with kava)
-again, not something I'd want to take when I want to be alert and active, but it is interesting, and may increase the likeliness of having vivid dreams (and this likelihood is apparently potentiated by kava, although kava alone didn't increase the chance of vivid dreams):
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12404572In this pilot study, 24 patients suffering from stress-induced insomnia were treated for 6 weeks with kava (LI-150), 120 mg daily. This was followed by a 2-week 'wash-out' period off treatment, and then, five patients having dropped out, 19 received valerian (LI-156), 600 mg daily, for another 6 weeks. Then there was a further 2-week period off treatment, and a final 6 weeks of treatment of these 19 patients with the two compounds combined (kava + valerian). Stress was measured in three areas: social, personal and life events; insomnia in three areas also: time to fall asleep, hours slept and waking mood. Total stress severity was significantly relieved by both compounds individually (p < 0.01), with no significant differences between them; and there was also improvement with the combination, significant in the case of insomnia (p < 0.05)...
These results are considered to be extremely...
The 'commonest' effect was vivid dreams with kava + valerian (4 cases (21%)) and with valerian alone (3 cases (16%))...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1153639024 patients suffering from stress-induced insomnia were treated for 6 weeks with kava 120 mg daily. This was followed by 2 weeks off treatment and then, 5 having dropped out, 19 received valerian 600 mg daily for another 6 weeks. Stress was measured in three areas: social, personal and life-events; insomnia in three areas also: time to fall asleep, hours slept and waking mood. Total stress severity was significantly relieved by both compounds (p < 0.01) with no significant differences between them; as was also insomnia (p < 0.01)...
These compounds may be useful in the treatment of stress and insomnia...
The“commonest” side-effect was vivid dreams with valerian(16%)...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11807960Fifty-four participants performed a standardized colour/word mental stress task on two occasions 1 week apart. Blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR) and subjective ratings of pressure were assessed at rest and during the mental stress task. Following the first session (time 1 = T1), individuals took a standard dose of kava (n = 18), or valerian (n = 18) for 7 days, while the remainder acted as controls (n = 18). Differences in BP and HR from resting levels were calculated as reactions to the stress task at both time points. At the second session (time 2 = T2) there was a significant decrease in systolic BP responsivity in both the kava and valerian groups relative to T1, but there were no significant reductions in diastolic BP. Between T1 and T2, the HR reaction to mental stress was found to decline in the valerian group but not in the kava group. Individuals taking kava or valerian reported less pressure during the task at T2 relative to T1. There were no significant differences in BP, HR or subjective reports of pressure between T1 and T2 in the controls. Behavioural performance on the colour/word task did not change between the groups over the two time points. The results suggest that kava and valerian may be beneficial to health by reducing physiological reactivity during stressful situations.
Phosphatidylserine (PS)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22017963PS supplementation [400mg] significantly increased cognitive function prior to exercise. Improved cognitive function could benefit athletes and non-athletes alike. PS did not appear to affect mood or endocrine response prior to or following resistance exercise.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2217563/It is concluded that six weeks of PS supplementation [200mg/day] shows a statistically not significant tendency (p = 0.07) to improve perceived stress levels in golfers and significantly improves (p < 0.05) the number of good ball flights during tee-off which might result in improved golf scores.
Coming Soon: Vinpocetine, Glycine, Panax Ginseng, Polygala