Citation index
Sources.
Numbered as cited across the site.
1
Li IC et al. Front Aging Neurosci 2020;12:155, PMID 32581767 — randomised double-blind placebo-controlled, n=49 adults with mild Alzheimer's disease, three 350 mg erinacine A-enriched Hericium erinaceus mycelium capsules a day at 5 mg/g = 5.25 mg erinacine A/day × 49 weeks: cognitive scores (MMSE, CASI) and daily-living function (IADL) improved against placebo, with brain-atrophy biomarkers moving the same way. The deficit is what it corrects; the trial ran on 5.25 mg a day and we ship 5 mg.
2
NMN at 1,000 mg, and what doubles. Christen S et al. Nat Metab 2026, doi 10.1038/s42255-025-01421-8 — randomised, n=65 healthy adults 18–50: NMN 1 g/day × 14 days raised whole-blood NAD⁺ by 43.1 µM (95% CI 32.7–53.4, P<0.001), about 2×; NR 1 g gave +49.4 µM; nicotinamide 0.5 g produced no significant change (P=0.461). Dose confirmed in older adults: Pencina KM et al. J Gerontol A 2023;78:90, doi 10.1093/gerona/glac049 — 1,000 mg once daily, n=32, ages 55–80, phase-1 PK; “substantial dose-related increases” in NAD⁺, unquantified; no functional endpoint.
3
Hersch SM et al. Neurology 2006, PMID 16434666 — randomised double-blind placebo-controlled, n=64, 8 g/day creatine × 16 weeks. Brain creatine by MRS +13% occipital (p=0.05), +7.5% frontal; serum 8-OH-dG fell (p=0.0042). Population was Huntington's disease and the primary endpoint was tolerability (met); the brain-creatine rise is the finding carried. Dechent P et al. Am J Physiol 1999;277:R698, doi 10.1152/ajpregu.1999.277.3.R698 — 20 g/day × 4 weeks in healthy adults, brain total creatine +8.7%. The brain literature runs 8–20 g and 9 g sits inside it; 8 g over 16 weeks produced the larger rise — duration beat dose.
4
Dose check, per each label's own public page. ErinaMax (Nootropics Depot), product page and Supplement Facts panel captured 1 Sep 2026: serving size 2 capsules = 1,000 mg liquid-culture Hericium erinaceus mycelium standardised to 5 mg erinacine A, so 2.5 mg per 500 mg capsule; frequency once daily; 60 ct or 120 ct bottles = 30 or 60 servings; $54.99 at 60 ct. RealMycelium (Real Mushrooms) — standardised 5 mg erinacine A per serving, Amazon listing noted 14 Aug 2026. Marks are their owners'.
5
Cuomo J, Appendino G, Dern AS, et al. J Nat Prod 2011;74(4):664–9, doi:10.1021/np1007262 — randomised, double-blind, crossover, human: total curcuminoid absorption ~29× higher for the phospholipid (lecithin) formulation than the same unformulated curcuminoids. Formulation-class evidence for phospholipid delivery; not erinacine-specific.
6
Complex I contains FMN and oxidises NADH at that flavin; Complex II is FAD-dependent (Biochim Biophys Acta 2020; BBA 2015). Note: in a replete person the rate-limiting step is downstream of the flavin.
7
Ward M et al. BMC Medicine 2020, doi 10.1186/s12916-020-01780-x — JINGO project (TUDA + NANS cohorts), n=6,076 generally healthy adults aged 18–102, Ireland. Riboflavin status by EGRac: 30.0% deficient (≥1.40) and a further 30.2% low — about 60% low-or-deficient.
8
Timeline / Mitopure claims, captured 1 Sep 2026 from timeline.com: “18 Years of research”, “80 Patents”, “25 Human clinical trials” — the last qualified “completed and ongoing”. Stated by them as flat figures.
9
Qualia Mitochondria+ panel and dose adjudication, captured 2 Sep 2026: 8 capsules per serving, 20 servings, $179.00, 33 distinct actives (Qualia’s formulation page counts 36 by listing dual forms separately). Each ingredient checked against Qualia’s own numbered reference lists, with each cited study’s dose read at primary source: 11 reach a dose a human trial used; 20 are below; 2 have no human dose at all. No Hericium erinaceus and no erinacine on the panel. Example: Gynostemma pentaphyllum is the one ingredient on the panel with a human trial that measured mitochondrial respiration — 450 mg/day (Nayyar 2023, Nutrients 15:4721) — and they dose 100 mg.
10
Competitor prices, US list, captured 14 Aug 2026: Tru Niagen $49, MitoQ ~$62, Timeline $125, ErinaMax $54.99/60 ct = 30 servings (ref 4 carries the panel, captured 1 Sep 2026), Qualia Mitochondria+ ~$169 (superseded by ref 19). Pack sizes: ErinaMax 60 ct and Qualia 20 servings (ref 9) are the only servings counts in this capture. Serving sizes used to normalise the five-product stack to 28 days, per each label: ErinaMax 60 ct at 2.5 mg erinacine A a capsule ($0.9165 each), two capsules a day for Essential's 5 mg = 56 capsules over 28 days = $51.32; Tru Niagen 300 mg, 30 ct, one a day = $45.73; MitoQ Pure 5 mg, 60 ct, two a day = $57.87; Timeline Mitopure softgels, 60 softgels, two a day = $116.67 (Timeline's own page states 60 softgels last a month); Life Extension ergothioneine 30 ct, one a day = $26.60; Neurogan luteolin 60 servings = $21.00; Thorne creatine 450 g, 252 g at 9 g/day = $24.64. Total $343.83. Tru Niagen, MitoQ and Timeline pack sizes were not recorded, so any five-bottle total built from these prices is a floor and is not normalised to a month.
11
PQQ 20 mg: PGC-1α protein increased in humans at this dose — Hwang PS et al. J Am Coll Nutr 2020, PMID 31860387, n=23 sedentary men, 6 weeks with endurance training; aerobic performance and electron-transport-chain enzyme activity were no different from placebo. Mechanism shown in people. A second human trial at the same 20 mg: Nakano M et al. Funct Foods Health Dis 2016, n=20 healthy adults 50–70 × 12 weeks — right-prefrontal haemoglobin by tNIRS up vs placebo (p<0.05). Blood flow, not function.
12
Schroeder et al. 2021 — d8-spermidine reaches aged-mouse brain at 1 week and climbs through 4 and 8 weeks to ~30% of blood levels ('relatively slow uptake'). Every positive spermidine outcome study to date (lifespan, cardiac, cognition, mitophagy loss-of-function) dosed continuously; no pulsed-benefit study exists. Basis for nightly, not pulsed, Clear.
13
POLYCAD — randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled: 24 mg/day spermidine (3 × 8 mg) × 48 weeks, n=187, age ≥65. NCT06186102; protocol Trials 2025, doi 10.1186/s13063-025-09176-z. The longest continuous human spermidine exposure protocol on record; basis for the 24 mg nightly Clear dose.
14
Retired 2 Sep 2026 — the passage that cited it was removed.
15
Mitophagy — where a human concentration is reached, and where an oral animal dose scales. Caffeine: Tian L et al. Front Pharmacol 2023;14:1155414 — 0–80 µM series in AT1 cells with mitophagy-specific readouts (mitochondrial-fraction PINK1 and Parkin, p-Parkin Ser65, BNIP3L, FUNDC1, TOM20/LAMP1 colocalisation, flux confirmed with chloroquine); 15 µM optimal, inverted U. Blanchard J & Sawers SJ, Eur J Clin Pharmacol 1983, PMID 6832208 — 5 mg/kg oral caffeine gives Cmax 51.5 µM, so a ~110 mg cup peaks near 16 µM. Limits: lung epithelium under hypoxia, and 24–48 h exposure against a ~30-minute human peak. Pterostilbene, orally, in animals: Metti S et al. 2020, PMID 33134297 — mice, 90.2 mg/kg gavage × 5 days, BNIP3 up in tibialis anterior (human-equivalent ~513 mg). López-Blanch R et al. 2024, PMID 38241160 — ALS mice, pterostilbene 30 mg/kg/day in feed with nicotinamide riboside 185 mg/kg/day, late-stage mitophagy up by mito-lysosome colocalisation; human-equivalents ~171 mg pterostilbene and ~1,053 mg NR against our 250 mg and 1,000 mg NMN; one author is ChromaDex. Shi Q et al. J Pharmacol Sci 2022;148:19 — PINK1-dependent, but 5–10 µM in cells and intraperitoneal in mice; mechanism only.
16
Rhodiola rosea SHR-5 (3% rosavins / 1% salidroside — the same spec as ours, so mg-for-mg), three positive trials bracketing our 400 mg. Olsson EM et al. Planta Med 2009;75:105, PMID 19016404 — 576 mg × 28 days, n=60 adults with fatigue syndrome: burnout score and sustained attention separated from placebo, cortisol awakening response differed; MADRS and SF-36 mental health did not. Darbinyan V et al. Phytomedicine 2000, PMID 11081987 — 170 mg × 2 weeks, 56 physicians on night duty: fatigue and work performance improved. SHR-5 phase III, Nord J Psychiatry — 340–680 mg, n=89. The trial below our dose and the trial above it both separated. The single-dose trial is ref 52; the two-week trial, ref 28.
17
Mushroom-coffee label check, per each brand’s public label or listing, captured 1 Sep 2026: Ryze Dark Roast 2,000 mg six-mushroom proprietary blend, no split (MCT and prebiotic fibre amounts not disclosed); MUD\WTR 30-serving tin 2,240 mg as four mushrooms at 560 mg each — “mushrooms and mycelium cultured on organic oats and/or organic sorghum” per their own ingredient line (cacao and spice amounts not disclosed); Four Sigmatic Focus Instant 500 mg lion’s mane + chaga combined, no split; Everyday Dose Coffee+ 1,500 mg lion’s mane + chaga combined, with 4,000 mg collagen and 150 mg L-theanine. None of the four names a standardised active. Marks are their owners’.
18
Spermidine cellular retention: brain spermidine turnover, half-life ~22 days (mouse; radiolabel decay after intraventricular putrescine) — Shaw GG, Neurochem Res 1979;4(2):269–275, doi 10.1007/BF00964150. Basis for the daily-pool framing; mechanism and kinetics only.
19
Qualia Mitochondria+ product page and Supplement Facts, captured 28 Aug 2026 — list price $179 (was $169 on 14 Aug 2026; the later capture governs). No Signal-stage ingredient (no erinacines / Hericium mycelium) on the panel.
20
Single-stage ergothioneine, per each seller's own listing, captured 1 Sep 2026: Life Extension Mega L-Ergothioneine, 25 mg per capsule, 30 capsules, $28.50 one-time (Amazon listing) — the figure used in the stack; ProHealth Longevity Ergothioneine, 25 mg, 30 capsules, $39.95 (Vitacost) is the same dose at a higher price. Marks are their owners'.
21
Single-stage luteolin, per the seller's own product page, captured 1 Sep 2026: Neurogan Luteolin Tablets, 200 mg luteolin per serving (2 × 100 mg tablets), 120 tablets = 60 servings, $45 list ($36 on a 20%-off promotion at capture; list used). Note for comparison shoppers: several cheaper products marketed as "Luteolin 200 mg" are luteolin-plus-rutin complexes delivering 50–100 mg of actual luteolin — read the panel, not the front label. Marks are their owners'.
22
Thorne Creatine, micronized creatine monohydrate, 5 g per serving × 90 servings = 450 g, NSF Certified for Sport, $44.00 — per Walmart and iHerb listings, captured 1 Sep 2026. At Essential's 9 g a day one tub runs 50 days. Marks are their owners'.
23
Hidese S et al. Nutrients 2019, PMID 31623400 — randomised double-blind placebo-controlled crossover, n=30 healthy adults (mean age 48), 200 mg L-theanine daily × 4 weeks. Depression score (SDS p=0.019), trait anxiety (p=0.006), sleep quality (PSQI p=0.013) and verbal fluency (p=0.001) improved; cortisol and IgA unchanged. Exact-dose match for Essential's 200 mg. Cortisol and perceived stress at the same dose: ref 24.
24
Moulin M et al. Neurology and Therapy 2024 — randomised placebo-controlled, healthy adults, 200 mg L-theanine daily × 28 days: salivary cortisol and perceived stress reduced.
25
Olthof MR et al. J Nutr 2003, PMID 14652361 — four-arm randomised placebo-controlled, n=76 healthy adults 30–50 selected for higher plasma homocysteine, 6 weeks. Fasting homocysteine: 1.5 g betaine −12% (P The same group’s pooled analysis (Olthof 2005, four RCTs, n=19/arm) found LDL up 11% at 6 g; at 1.5 g the rise did not reach significance.
26
Jung SJ et al. BMC Complement Altern Med 2019, doi 10.1186/s12906-019-2483-y — randomised double-blind placebo-controlled, n=80 healthy adults 20–75 with slight immune decrease, CBG-CS-2 Cordyceps mycelium extract 1.68 g/day × 8 weeks. Pre-specified primary, NK-cell cytotoxic activity: met, +38.8% vs placebo (p=0.019). Essential's 2 g delivers ~630 mg polysaccharide against their ~538 mg.
27
Hellhammer J et al. Lipids Health Dis 2014, PMID 25081826 — randomised placebo-controlled, n=75 men 20–45, 400 mg phosphatidylserine + 400 mg phosphatidic acid daily × 42 days, then acute stress test. ACTH and cortisol response normalised in the chronically stressed subgroup (p=0.010, 0.035); 200 mg arm and low-stress subgroup unchanged. Parker AG et al. JISSN 2011, doi 10.1186/1550-2783-8-16: 400 mg PS alone × 14 days in unstressed young men — cortisol and mood unchanged, calculation speed +20% (p=0.001). Essential's 400 mg PS is sunflower-derived with phosphatidic acid from lecithin; Benton D et al. Nutr Neurosci 2001, PMID 11842886 — 300 mg PS × 1 month, young adults under a mental-arithmetic stressor: less stress and better mood only above the median for neuroticism. Both clean PS positives are in people carrying a load; PS corrects a deficit rather than adding to a baseline.
28
Darbinyan V et al. Phytomedicine 2000, PMID 11081987 — double-blind crossover, n=56 healthy physicians on night duty, 170 mg SHR-5 Rhodiola rosea × 2 weeks: stress-induced fatigue and work performance improved. Below Essential's 400 mg; ref 16 carries the 576 mg fatigue trial.
29
Chen SN et al. Foods 2023;12:659, PMID 36766186 — randomised double-blind placebo-controlled, n=135 healthy adults 18–55, 200 mg/day of a Megazyme-assayed 75.2% β-glucan Ganoderma lucidum material = 150.4 mg β-glucan × 84 days: CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ T-cells, CD4/CD8 ratio, NK-cell counts, NK cytotoxicity and serum IgA increased vs placebo; liver and kidney markers unchanged. Essential’s 500 mg of 30.24% β-glucan fruiting-body extract delivers 151 mg — the trial dose. Same marker; their material was a purified β-glucan, ours a whole extract.
30
Chiu HF et al. Pharm Biol 2017;55:1041, PMID 28183232 — randomised double-blind placebo-controlled crossover, n=42 randomised / 39 analysed, adults 40–54 with mildly raised liver enzymes and fatty liver, one 225 mg capsule daily × 6 months per arm, one-month washout. Each capsule 7% triterpenoid-ganoderic acid (A, B, C, C5, C6, D, E, G) and 6% polysaccharide peptides — 15.75 mg triterpenes a day, and their independent assay returned 15.3 mg. TEAC, thiols, TBARS, 8-OH-dG and liver enzymes improved. Essential’s 500 mg at 4.22% triterpenes delivers 21.1 mg — 134%.
32
Zajac IT et al. Nutraceuticals 2025 — randomised double-blind placebo-controlled, n=147 adults 55–79 with subjective memory complaints, ergothioneine 10 or 25 mg daily × 16 weeks. Primary endpoint (composite memory) not met. Secondaries at 25 mg: subjective prospective memory and sleep initiation improved dose-dependently; plasma ergothioneine ×16.
33
Hwang PS et al. J Am Coll Nutr 2020, PMID 31860387 — see ref 11. The only independent human PQQ trial at 20 mg: PGC-1α up; performance and ETC enzyme activity no different from placebo.
34
Tamakoshi M et al. Food Funct 2023, doi 10.1039/D2FO01515C, UMIN000034459 — randomised double-blind placebo-controlled, healthy Japanese adults 20–65, 20 mg BioPQQ daily × 12 weeks. Fifteen Cognitrax domains tested; overall composite memory (P=0.003) and verbal memory (P=0.001) improved, with age-stratified secondaries. No correction for multiplicity across the fifteen. Commissioned and wholly funded by the manufacturer, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical. The PGC-1α trial at the same 20 mg: ref 33.
35
Mizuno K et al. Nutrients 2020, PMID 32498248 — randomised double-blind, n=62 healthy adults 20–64 with mild daily fatigue, ubiquinol 100 or 150 mg daily × 12 weeks. At 100 mg: subjective fatigue and sleepiness after a cognitive task improved (p<0.05); the objective test was unchanged; no designated primary endpoint.
36
Yi L et al. GeroScience 2022, doi 10.1007/s11357-022-00705-1 — randomised multicentre double-blind placebo-controlled, n=80 healthy middle-aged adults, NMN 300, 600 or 900 mg daily × 60 days, blood NAD⁺ and six-minute walking distance rose dose-dependently against placebo.
37
Černelič Bizjak M et al. J Funct Foods 2024 — randomised double-blind placebo-controlled pilot, n=33 healthy adults, 3 g/day erinacine-A-enriched Hericium erinaceus delivering 3.44 mg erinacine A (HPLC, ISO 17025 lab) × 8 weeks. Non-verbal processing-speed test improved at 8 weeks (F=4.6, p<0.05, adjusted for baseline, age and sex; unadjusted comparison not significant). Essential's 5 mg erinacine A is 1.5× this.
38
Owen GN et al. Nutr Neurosci 2008, PMID 18681988 — double-blind placebo-controlled crossover, n=27 healthy adults, single dose 50 mg caffeine + 100 mg L-theanine: attention-switching accuracy and alertness improved, susceptibility to distraction reduced, vs caffeine alone. For L-theanine on its own at our 200 mg, see ref 23.
39
Lapatto HAK et al. Sci Adv 2023;9:eadd5163, PMID 36638183 — nicotinamide riboside escalated 250→1,000 mg/day, then 1 g/day for 5 months; 20 BMI-discordant and 4 concordant monozygotic twin pairs, ~40 y. Skeletal-muscle mitochondrial number increased on biopsy, with improved satellite-cell differentiation. Two limits: it is NR, not NMN — the bridge is the NAD⁺-precursor class — and body-composition and metabolic endpoints did not separate from placebo. The strongest human mitochondrial evidence behind anything on this label.
40
Alsaleh G et al. Aging Cell 2026, doi 10.1111/acel.70545, NCT05421546 — 6 mg/day spermidine as wheat-germ extract × 13 weeks, n=40 adults 65–81. Single-cell RNA-seq: TFEB-target and autophagy genes up, with directly measured autophagic flux elevated — the first in-vivo demonstration of spermidine inducing autophagy in humans, at a quarter of the Clear dose. Measured: autophagic flux, not mitophagy specifically. The vaccine result was confined to a pre-identified non-responder subgroup of eight. Material from The Longevity Labs.
41
Brain mitochondrial protein turnover — the twelve-week clock. Sci Rep 2023;13, doi 10.1038/s41598-023-38484-0 — deuterated-leucine labelling in C57BL/6J mice: striatal synaptic mitochondrial proteins have a 25.7-day half-life (hepatic 3.5 days). Eighty-four days is 3.27 half-lives — 89.6% replaced. Mouse data; the clock is a scale, not an outcome.
42
Creatine and strength. Kreider RB et al. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2017;14:18 — the ISSN position stand, drawing on several hundred trials: 3–5 g/day maintenance with resistance training increases strength and lean mass in young and older adults. The one long trial in older women, Chilibeck PD et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2023, PMID 37144634 — 0.14 g/kg/day × 2 years, n=237 postmenopausal women with resistance training and walking — was a bone trial: femoral geometry and walking speed improved, one-rep-max strength did not separate, lean mass rose among completers (P=0.046).
43
Riche DM et al. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2014;2014:459165, NCT01267227 — four arms, n=80 adults with hypercholesterolaemia, 6–8 weeks; 125 mg twice daily = 250 mg/day, our dose exactly. Systolic blood pressure −7.8 mmHg vs placebo (P<0.01). LDL rose 17.1 mg/dL on pterostilbene alone (P=0.001); a co-administered grape extract prevented the rise. Both the benefit and the LDL finding are at our dose, and both are printed.
44
Moridpour AH et al. Phytother Res 2024, PMID 37818728 — systematic review and dose–response meta-analysis, 24 RCTs, all in type 2 diabetes: fasting glucose, HOMA-IR and HbA1c fell vs control; insulin did not (p=0.058).
45
Zdzieblik D, Oesser S, Gollhofer A, König D. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 2017;42:588, PMID 28177710 — randomised placebo-controlled, n=139 young athletic adults with activity-related knee pain and no joint disease, 5 g/day specific bioactive collagen peptides × 12 weeks. Primary met: activity-related pain fell more than placebo on participant (P=0.046) and physician (P=0.021) scales; pain at rest did not (P=0.209). Second author is at the Collagen Research Institute. The claim is about this peptide profile, not hydrolysate in general.
47
Yoshino M, Yoshino J, Kayser BD, et al. Science 2021;372:1224, PMID 33888596, NCT03151239 — randomised double-blind placebo-controlled, n=25 postmenopausal women with prediabetes, overweight or obese, NMN 250 mg/day × 10 weeks. Primary met: insulin-stimulated muscle glucose disposal (hyperinsulinaemic-euglycaemic clamp) increased after NMN and not after placebo; muscle AKT and mTOR phosphorylation up. Effect size not in the abstract. Authors hold NMN patent and licensing interests. A quarter of our dose.
48
Gualano B et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2011;43:770, PMID 20881878 — randomised double-blind placebo-controlled, n=25 adults with type 2 diabetes, creatine 5 g/day with supervised exercise training × 12 weeks. Primary met: HbA1c −1.1 points vs placebo (P=0.004); glucose AUC lower (P=0.05); GLUT-4 translocation up; insulin and C-peptide unchanged. The training is part of the result.
50
Mori K et al. Phytother Res 2009;23:367, PMID 18844328 — randomised double-blind placebo-controlled, n=30 randomised / 29 analysed, Japanese adults 50–80 with mild cognitive impairment (HDS-R-based scale 22–25 of 30), twelve 250 mg tablets of 96% Hericium erinaceus fruiting-body dry powder a day — 2.9 g — × 16 weeks, then 4 weeks off. Scores separated from placebo at weeks 8, 12 and 16 and rose with duration; in the four weeks after intake stopped they fell significantly from the week-16 level. The authors’ own reading: the effect is reversible and continuous intake is necessary to maintain it. Six times our fruiting-body mass, in a clinical population, and no hericenone content was measured — the dose comparison is made on hericenone C, ref 58. Cited for the washout.
51
MCT as fuel, and its dose. Ketogenic effects of medium-chain triglycerides containing formula and its correlation to breath acetone in healthy volunteers, Front Nutr 2023 — acute dose–response in healthy adults: plasma ketones rise within the hour of an MCT dose and scale with it. The 4.2 g here is set by the fat phase the formula needs (a 6 g fill of 70% MCT powder on acacia), not by a trial: the human outcome trials run 6 g/day × 90 days for muscle in frail older adults (Front Nutr 2023, combined analysis) and 12–20 g/day for cognition. As a coffee ingredient — ketones behind the sugar in the first hours — it is on the home page with caffeine and L-theanine.
52
Rhodiola on day one. Shevtsov VA et al. Phytomedicine 2003;10:95, PMID 12725561 — randomised double-blind placebo-controlled with a no-treatment arm, n=161 cadets aged 19–21 on night duty: a single dose of SHR-5 Rhodiola rosea, 370 mg or 555 mg, and capacity for mental work under fatigue separated from placebo the same day; the two doses did not differ. Our 400 mg sits inside that bracket, and the extract is the same spec (3% rosavins / 1% salidroside). This is the trial behind the first days of the Fatigue tile on Benefits — the effect that arrives before NAD+ or creatine have loaded. Refs 16 and 28 carry the two- and four-week trials. Creatine on the same day-one clock: ref 53. Rhodiola at two and four weeks: refs 28 and 16.
53
Creatine, and how fast. At our dose: Watanabe A et al. Neurosci Res 2002;42:279, PMID 11985880 — double-blind placebo-controlled, n=24, 8 g/day × 5 days: mental fatigue on a repeated calculation task fell and task-evoked cortical oxy-Hb dropped, read as more efficient oxygen use. Small, and never replicated at this dose. Above our dose, the acute effect is unambiguous: Gordji-Nejad A et al. Sci Rep 2024;14:4937, doi 10.1038/s41598-024-54249-9 — randomised double-blind crossover, n=15, a single 0.35 g/kg dose during 21 h awake: brain creatine (tCr/tNAA) rose, subjective fatigue fell and cognition held against placebo from 3 h; replicated at 0.2 g/kg, n=29 — Nutrients 2026;18:1192, PMID 42075005. Our 9 g is ≈0.13 g/kg; the single-dose effect is untested below 0.2, and no floor has been found. A 5 g dose peaks in plasma within the hour (Harris RC et al. Clin Sci 1992;83:367). Read together: creatine reaches the brain and acts on fatigue within hours of a dose, within a week at ours in one small trial; ref 3 is the slow, well-measured brain-loading floor.
54
Retired 7 Sep 2026 — the passage that cited it was removed.
55
Reishi on stress and mood. Mitra S et al. Int J Med Mushrooms 2024;26(11):51, PMID 39241163, doi 10.1615/IntJMedMushrooms.2024055300 — double-blind randomised placebo-controlled, n=78 healthy women aged ~20, Ganoderma lucidum 500 or 1,000 mg daily × 30 days: anxiety, depression, vitality, and positive well-being scores improved at 1,000 mg, with VO₂max and work capacity rising dose-dependently; 500 mg was the lower arm and the psychological result is reported at 1,000. The paper reports no marker content, so the comparison cannot be made on actives; the abstract names no extract, which in this class of trial means dried fruiting-body powder. Ours is STAHERB VP21, standardised to 4.22% triterpenes and 30.24% β-glucan — 21.1 mg and 151 mg in 500 mg — held against published assays of dried fruiting body: triterpenoids reach about 3.5% at most (Bioresour Bioprod 2026, doi 10.3390/bioresourbioprod2020005; USP floors are lower), so 21.1 mg is what roughly 1–2 g of powder carries and we sit above the 1 g arm on that active. β-glucan in dried fruiting body runs 19.5–43.5% (J Fungi 2024;10:723, doi 10.3390/jof10100723), so on β-glucan the 1 g arm carries 195–435 mg against our 151 mg — below. Tang W et al. J Med Food 2005;8:53, PMID 15857210 — randomised double-blind placebo-controlled, n=123 adults with neurasthenia, 5.4 g/day polysaccharide extract × 8 weeks: fatigue and well-being scores separated from placebo (CGI improvement P=0.002). Far above our dose and a different material.
56
Retired 4 Sep 2026 — the tile that cited it was removed.
57
Retired 4 Sep 2026 — the tile that cited it was removed.
58
Lion's mane fruiting body, dosed by hericenone C rather than by powder mass. Tang Y, Kahraman O, Goos AJ, Fields C. Molecules 2026;31:569, doi 10.3390/molecules31030569 — analytical study (no species; Hericium erinaceus fruiting-body raw materials and finished products), single-laboratory validated UHPLC-UV: across the fruiting-body materials measured, hericenones and hericenes ranged 0.005 to 1 mg/g, with many commercial products below the limit of quantification. At the top of that range the 2.9 g/day of dried fruiting-body powder in ref 50 carries at most 2.9 mg hericenone C; our 1 g of fruiting-body extract carries 7.4 mg hericenone C, 1.6 mg hericenone D*, and 0.2 mg hericenone E* (*scaled from concentrated-batch assay performed by Omnient Labs 2026).
59
Creatine and memory. Avgerinos KI, Spyrou N, Bougioukas KI, Kapogiannis D. Exp Gerontol 2018;108:166, PMID 29704637 — systematic review of six randomised controlled trials, n=281 healthy adults, oral creatine monohydrate 2–20 g/day: short-term memory and intelligence/reasoning improved; long-term memory, spatial memory, attention, and executive function inconsistent across trials; effects larger in vegetarians and older adults. Our 9 g sits inside the studied range.
60
Phosphatidylserine and memory. Vakhapova V, Cohen T, Richter Y, Herzog Y, Korczyn AD. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 2010;29:467, PMID 20523044 — randomised double-blind placebo-controlled, n=157 non-demented older adults with memory complaints, 300 mg/day phosphatidylserine (as PS-DHA, omega-3 on the backbone) × 15 weeks: verbal immediate recall improved against placebo and more participants responded. Kato-Kataoka A et al. J Clin Biochem Nutr 2010;47:246, PMID 21103034 — randomised double-blind, n=78 Japanese adults 50–69 with memory complaints, soy phosphatidylserine 100 or 300 mg/day × 6 months: memory scores rose on PS in those who started low while placebo did not; manufacturer-run. Ours is 400 mg, 1.3× the 300 mg arms; the PS in the mug is plain PS, not the DHA conjugate.
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Reishi and the calming direction, in people. Iser-Bem PN et al. Br J Nutr 2024;132:130, PMID 38800991, doi 10.1017/S0007114524001144 — double-blind placebo-controlled, 60 women aged 60–80 enrolled, 39 completed (reishi n=23, placebo n=16; 35% attrition), 2,000 mg/day whole Ganoderma lucidum sporophore water extract at 52.8% β-glucan × 8 weeks. Blood T cells stimulated ex vivo: Th17⁺ cells fell and regulatory-T gene expression (FOXP3, TGF-β, IL-10) rose — the authors’ reading is “a predominant anti-inflammatory action”; the same cells also proliferated more under a mitogen, so both directions appear inside one trial. Measured in cultured blood cells, not as an inflammation outcome in the women. Their β-glucan dose ≈1,056 mg against our 151 mg — cited for the direction of the response, not for its size at our dose.
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Both directions, across the mushrooms in the mug — animal and cell data, species and model on each. Activation when the system is quiet or depleted: Yoshida H et al. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2012 — oral reishi fucogalactan raised Th17 via dendritic-cell IL-23 in healthy mice (mouse; gut, dendritic cells). Chen S et al. Food Funct 2021 — natural Cordyceps sinensis polysaccharide, oral, restored intestinal RORγt/IL-17 and FOXP3 together in cyclophosphamide-immunosuppressed mice (mouse; intestine). Guo HK et al. Carbohydr Polym 2026 — Cordyceps militaris exopolysaccharides restored immune function via gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acids in cyclophosphamide-suppressed mice (mouse; intestine, liver). Diling C et al. Front Immunol 2017 — HEP3, a single protein from Hericium erinaceus, restored T-cell proliferation and intestinal antigen-presenting function in cyclophosphamide mice (mouse; gut). Suppression when inflamed: Wei B et al. J Immunol Res 2018 — reishi polysaccharides by gavage suppressed the Th17 response and eased DSS colitis (mouse; colon). Ye Y et al. J Ethnopharmacol 2026 — ganoderic acid A, the reishi triterpene, inhibited IL-17 signalling in DSS colitis (mouse; colon, Th17 cells). Cui L et al. Molecules 2023 — Paecilomyces hepiali (fermented C. sinensis) exopolysaccharide prevented DSS colitis and rebalanced Treg/Th17 (mouse; colon). Chen J et al. Molecules 2020 — Cs-4 C. sinensis mycelium extract suppressed IgE and IL-4/5/13 in allergic rhinitis and asthma models (mouse and rat; airway). Yuan Y et al. Mol Neurobiol 2025 — cordycepin, the C. militaris nucleoside, suppressed peripheral Th17 and IL-17a in septic mice (mouse; blood, hippocampus). Diling C et al. Oncotarget 2017 — Hericium erinaceus extracts relieved TNBS colitis (rat; colon); the HEP3 protein cut TNF-α/IL-1β/IL-6 in LPS-activated macrophages (mouse cell line). Impellizzeri D et al. Antioxidants 2022 — oral Coriolus versicolor 200 mg/kg cut TNF-α, IL-1β, and neutrophil infiltration in DNBS colitis by downregulating TLR4/NF-κB (mouse; colon). Turkey tail is the thinnest pair — one colitis model, fraction unstated, no Th17 measurement. Doses are animal and mostly unstated in abstracts; this reference supports the two-direction pattern, not a dose comparison.
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Cordyceps militaris, compared on cordycepin rather than on mass. Ontawong A, Pengnet S, Thim-Uam A et al. 2024 — randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, n=40 healthy Thai adults aged 25–60 (human), a fermented Cordyceps militaris beverage delivering 2.85 mg cordycepin/day × 8 weeks: natural-killer-cell activity rose 34.11% at week 4 in the male participants (p=0.04) — a subgroup result, and the figure the dose is held against. Kang C et al. 2015 reaches the same daily cordycepin from the other direction: 1.5 g of militaris assayed at 1.9 mg/g = 2.85 mg/day (full text on file). Our 500 mg of VP70 at 1.02% cordycepin carries 5.1 mg — 1.8× both. Mass is the wrong axis for this material: cordycepin is the marker the trials dose and the one we assay.
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Erinacine C, the second erinacine we assay by name. Every study below is cells or animals: no human has been given the isolated compound or had it measured, so this row makes no human claim. Nor has erinacine C been measured in any animal after an oral dose. The two studies that tracked an erinacine into brain tissue both dosed the same erinacine-enriched mycelium in Sprague-Dawley rats and each assayed one compound: Tsai PC, Wu YK, Hu JH et al. Molecules 2021;26:4510, PMID 34361662 — erinacine A, 24.39% absolute oral bioavailability, in brain by 1 h and peaking at 8 h; and Hu JF, Tsai PC, Lin TW et al. Molecules 2019;24:1624, PMID 31022946 — erinacine S, 15.13%, distributed to brain among eight organs. That mycelium contains erinacine C and neither assay looked for it, so for erinacine C there is no detection and no failure to detect — only an absent measurement. Rascher M, Wittstein K, Winter B et al. Biomolecules 2020;10:1440, PMID 33066380 — human 1321N1 astrocytoma cells, 5 µg/mL for 6–48 h: erinacine C induced both NGF-β and BDNF, the only erinacine shown to induce both, and separately switched on transcription from a consensus ETS DNA-binding site; medium from treated cells grew neurites on PC12 cells through the TrkA receptor, with PLCγ, PI3K, and MAPK/ERK downstream. Kawagishi H, Shimada A, Shirai R et al. Tetrahedron Lett 1994 — mouse astroglial cells, the founding assay: at 1.0 mM, NGF secreted into the medium was erinacine C 299.1 ± 59.6, erinacine A 250.1 ± 36.2, and erinacine B 129.7 ± 6.5 pg/mL, ranking C the strongest of the three. That concentration is ~43× the cytotoxic ceiling below, so it ranks potency between compounds and says nothing about exposure. Wang LY, Huang CS, Chen YH et al. Molecules 2019;24:3317, PMID 31547327 — BV2 microglia (mouse line; the published abstract calls them human, which is an error in the paper), 0.1–2.5 µM: nitric oxide, IL-6, TNF-α, and iNOS fell with NF-κB and phospho-IκBα down, while Keap1 was inhibited and Nrf2 with HO-1 rose. Lee KF, Tung SY, Teng CC et al. Antioxidants 2024;13:371, PMID 38539904 — Sprague-Dawley rat, mild traumatic brain injury, erinacine C 2 mg/kg intraperitoneal alongside oral mycelium: Nrf2 bound the catalase, thioredoxin reductase, superoxide dismutase, and BDNF promoters by ChIP-qPCR, with less brain inflammation and microglial activation; the isolated compound was injected, not fed. Spangenberg ET, Moneypenny A, Bozzo GG, Perreault ML. Front Pharmacol 2025;16:1582081, PMID 40626304 — systematic review of preclinical models: erinacine C was a test compound in seven reports with a distinct Nrf2 signature, and erinacines are cytotoxic in vitro above 10 µg/mL, which for erinacine C (C₂₅H₃₈O₆, MW 434.6) is 23 µM.
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