Ingredients

What is actually in the products

Our complete ingredient catalogue. Search for an ingredient or filter by category to read what each one is, what it does in the body and what the research looks at. Every entry links to the studies on PubMed and to the products in our range that contain it.

30 ingredients

Alpha-Lipoic Acid (ALA)

Antioxidants

An unusual antioxidant in that it is soluble in both water and fat, so it works in every compartment of the cell. The R-form is the one the body makes; racemic mixtures contain both.

What it does in the body

ALA is a cofactor for the mitochondrial dehydrogenase complexes, and it regenerates other antioxidants — vitamin C, vitamin E and glutathione — after they have been used up.

What the research looks at

  • Nerve symptoms in diabetic neuropathy
  • Insulin sensitivity
  • Regeneration of other antioxidants
Typical daily dose
300–600 mg
Time to effect
4–12 weeks
Usually taken
On an empty stomach

Berberine

Energy

A bright yellow alkaloid from barberry, goldenseal and Coptis root, used in Chinese and ayurvedic medicine long before its metabolic effects were described.

What it does in the body

Berberine activates AMPK, the enzyme that signals low cellular energy and switches the cell from storing to burning. It also changes the composition of the gut microbiota, which may account for part of the effect.

What the research looks at

  • Fasting glucose and HbA1c
  • LDL cholesterol and triglycerides
  • Gut microbiota composition
Typical daily dose
500 mg, two or three times daily
Time to effect
4–12 weeks
Usually taken
With meals

Caffeine (coffee)

Energy

The most widely consumed psychoactive substance on earth. How fast it is cleared varies several-fold between people, which is largely down to a single liver enzyme.

What it does in the body

Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors. Adenosine accumulates through the day and produces the feeling of tiredness; caffeine does not remove it, it hides it — and the backlog is still there when the caffeine wears off.

What the research looks at

  • Alertness and reaction time
  • Endurance and strength performance
  • Half-life and sleep disruption from afternoon intake
Typical daily dose
80–200 mg
Time to effect
30–60 minutes
Usually taken
Morning; at least eight hours before bed

Ceremonial Grade Matcha

Antioxidants In the Blueprint protocol

Whole green tea leaves shaded for several weeks before harvest, then stone-ground. Because the leaf is drunk rather than steeped and discarded, the dose of everything in it is far higher than in brewed tea.

What it does in the body

Shading raises the leaf's theanine content, and matcha therefore delivers caffeine and theanine together — the combination associated with alertness without the edge of coffee.

What the research looks at

  • Attention and reaction time from caffeine with theanine
  • Catechin intake compared with brewed tea
  • Cardiometabolic markers
Typical daily dose
1–2 g
Time to effect
30–60 minutes
Usually taken
Morning or early afternoon

Chromium

Minerals

A trace mineral usually sold as chromium picolinate, which absorbs considerably better than the chloride form. Chromax® is a standardised picolinate used in most of the trials.

What it does in the body

Chromium appears to potentiate insulin signalling at the receptor, though the precise mechanism is still debated and there is no established storage form in the body.

What the research looks at

  • Fasting glucose and insulin sensitivity
  • Carbohydrate cravings
  • Body composition
Typical daily dose
200 µg
Time to effect
8–12 weeks
Usually taken
With food

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)

Energy

A fat-soluble quinone found in every cell membrane, densest in heart tissue. Levels fall with age, and statins reduce them further because both share the same synthesis pathway.

What it does in the body

CoQ10 carries electrons between complexes I and III of the respiratory chain — the step at which food energy becomes ATP. In its reduced form it also protects membrane lipids from oxidation.

What the research looks at

  • Heart function and exercise capacity
  • Statin-associated muscle symptoms
  • Migraine frequency
Typical daily dose
100–300 mg
Time to effect
8–12 weeks
Usually taken
With a fat-containing meal

Cordyceps

Energy In the Blueprint protocol

A fungus that in the wild parasitises insect larvae. Commercial supplements use Cordyceps militaris grown on grain, not the wild Tibetan species, which is among the most expensive biological materials on earth.

What it does in the body

Cordycepin and adenosine analogues appear to affect ATP turnover and oxygen utilisation. It became widely known after Chinese distance runners credited it in the early nineties.

What the research looks at

  • VO2 max and time to exhaustion
  • Fatigue resistance in older adults
  • Immune cell activity
Typical daily dose
1–3 g extract
Time to effect
3–12 weeks
Usually taken
Morning or before training

Creatine Monohydrate

Muscles In the Blueprint protocol

The most thoroughly studied sports supplement in existence, with well over a thousand controlled trials. Monohydrate is both the cheapest form and the one every trial has used.

What it does in the body

Creatine is stored in muscle as phosphocreatine, a phosphate reserve that regenerates ATP within seconds. The same system operates in the brain, which is the basis for the cognitive research.

What the research looks at

  • Strength and power output
  • Lean mass gain alongside resistance training
  • Cognition during sleep deprivation
Typical daily dose
3–5 g
Time to effect
2–4 weeks
Usually taken
Any time, daily

EGCG (Epigallocatechin Gallate)

Antioxidants In the Blueprint protocol

The dominant catechin in green tea, and roughly half of its total polyphenol content. Concentrated extracts carry a liver-safety caveat that brewed tea does not.

What it does in the body

EGCG inhibits catechol-O-methyltransferase, which slows the breakdown of noradrenaline, and it interacts with several signalling pathways involved in cell growth.

What the research looks at

  • Fat oxidation and energy expenditure
  • Blood lipids
  • Liver safety at high extract doses
Typical daily dose
200–400 mg
Time to effect
4–12 weeks
Usually taken
With food

Electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium)

Minerals

Not one ingredient but a ratio. Sweat carries roughly a gram of sodium per litre, along with smaller amounts of potassium, magnesium and chloride — water alone does not replace that.

What it does in the body

Electrolytes set the osmotic gradient that decides whether water stays in the bloodstream or is passed out. Sodium in particular drives the reabsorption of water in the kidney.

What the research looks at

  • Rehydration after sweat loss
  • Endurance performance in heat
  • Cramping during prolonged exercise
Typical daily dose
500–1500 mg sodium per litre
Time to effect
Minutes to hours
Usually taken
Before and during exertion

Eleuthero (Siberian ginseng)

Energy

Eleutherococcus senticosus, a thorny shrub from north-eastern Asia. Despite the common name it is not botanically a ginseng; the active compounds are eleutherosides rather than ginsenosides.

What it does in the body

Classified as an adaptogen: it modulates the stress response rather than stimulating a single system, and it is used in traditional medicine during periods of sustained physical load.

What the research looks at

  • Endurance capacity and recovery between sessions
  • Fatigue during periods of high workload
  • Immune cell counts
Typical daily dose
300–1200 mg
Time to effect
2–6 weeks
Usually taken
Morning

Geranylgeraniol (GG)

Energy

A compound found in annatto and in small amounts in the body. It sits downstream in the mevalonate pathway — the same pathway statins interrupt.

What it does in the body

GG is required for prenylation, the process that anchors certain proteins to cell membranes so they can carry signals. It is also a precursor to CoQ10 and to MK-4.

What the research looks at

  • Endogenous CoQ10 and MK-4 synthesis
  • Muscle protein synthesis
  • Testosterone production in Leydig cells
Typical daily dose
150–300 mg
Time to effect
8–12 weeks
Usually taken
With a fat-containing meal

Iron

Minerals

The most common nutritional deficiency in the world, and the one supplement that should not be taken speculatively — excess iron is stored, not excreted, and it is pro-oxidant.

What it does in the body

Iron sits at the centre of haemoglobin, where it binds oxygen, and in the cytochromes of the respiratory chain. Haem iron from meat absorbs several times better than non-haem iron from plants.

What the research looks at

  • Fatigue where ferritin is low
  • Endurance capacity
  • Absorption alongside vitamin C
Typical daily dose
Only on the basis of a blood test
Time to effect
4–12 weeks
Usually taken
On an empty stomach, with vitamin C

L-Carnitine

Energy

A compound the body makes from lysine and methionine, and takes in from red meat. The name comes from carnis, Latin for flesh.

What it does in the body

Carnitine ferries long-chain fatty acids across the mitochondrial membrane, which is the step that has to happen before fat can be burned for energy.

What the research looks at

  • Fatigue and recovery after exercise
  • Fat oxidation during exercise
  • Muscle carnitine content, which is hard to raise
Typical daily dose
1–2 g
Time to effect
12–24 weeks
Usually taken
With a carbohydrate-containing meal

Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceus)

Brain & focus In the Blueprint protocol

A white, shaggy mushroom that grows on hardwood and looks like its name. It is edible as food and has a texture close to crab meat.

What it does in the body

Hericenones in the fruiting body and erinacines in the mycelium stimulate nerve growth factor synthesis in laboratory work. The two compound groups are found in different parts of the organism, which is why extract source matters.

What the research looks at

  • Cognitive scores in older adults
  • Nerve growth factor expression
  • Mood and subjective wellbeing
Typical daily dose
500–3000 mg extract
Time to effect
4–16 weeks
Usually taken
Morning, with food

Maca Root

Energy

A cruciferous root vegetable grown above 4,000 metres in the Peruvian Andes, eaten as a food there and sold elsewhere as a dried powder or extract.

What it does in the body

Maca contains macamides and glucosinolates. It does not appear to contain hormones or bind hormone receptors directly; the mechanism behind its traditional use is not settled.

What the research looks at

  • Subjective energy and mood
  • Sexual function in both men and women
  • Menopausal symptoms
Typical daily dose
1.5–3 g
Time to effect
4–12 weeks
Usually taken
Morning, with food

Molecular Hydrogen (H2)

Antioxidants

The smallest molecule there is, dissolved in water from an effervescent tablet. Its size is the whole argument: it diffuses into places larger antioxidants cannot reach.

What it does in the body

H2 selectively reduces hydroxyl radicals, the most damaging reactive species, while leaving the signalling radicals the body uses deliberately alone. It also crosses cell membranes and the blood-brain barrier without a transporter.

What the research looks at

  • Markers of oxidative stress
  • Recovery and perceived exertion after exercise
  • Metabolic markers
Typical daily dose
1–2 tablets in water
Time to effect
Minutes to weeks
Usually taken
Drink immediately after dissolving

Niacin (Vitamin B3)

Vitamins In the Blueprint protocol

Nicotinic acid, the form of B3 that causes the familiar flush — warm, red skin for twenty minutes or so, caused by prostaglandin-mediated dilation of small blood vessels.

What it does in the body

Niacin is a precursor to NAD+ and NADP, the coenzymes that carry electrons in essentially every energy-producing reaction in the cell. At pharmacological doses it also affects blood lipids.

What the research looks at

  • NAD+ levels in tissue
  • Blood lipid profile at high doses
  • Energy metabolism
Typical daily dose
16–35 mg
Time to effect
4–8 weeks
Usually taken
With food, to reduce flushing

NMN (Nicotinamide Mononucleotide)

Energy In the Blueprint protocol

One step away from NAD+ in the salvage pathway. NAD+ levels decline substantially with age, and raising them is one of the more actively pursued ideas in longevity research.

What it does in the body

NMN is converted to NAD+ by the NMNAT enzymes. NAD+ is consumed by the sirtuins and by PARP enzymes during DNA repair, so demand rises exactly when supply is falling.

What the research looks at

  • Blood NAD+ levels after supplementation
  • Insulin sensitivity and physical function
  • Sirtuin activity in animal models
Typical daily dose
250–1000 mg
Time to effect
4–12 weeks
Usually taken
Morning, on an empty stomach

NR (Nicotinamide Riboside)

Energy

The other common NAD+ precursor, one step further back than NMN. It has been through more human trials than NMN has, largely because it reached the market earlier.

What it does in the body

NR enters cells intact and is phosphorylated to NMN before conversion to NAD+. Whether NR or NMN raises tissue NAD+ more effectively is not settled.

What the research looks at

  • Blood NAD+ levels
  • Muscle function in older adults
  • Metabolic markers
Typical daily dose
250–500 mg
Time to effect
4–12 weeks
Usually taken
Morning, with or without food

Panax Ginseng

Energy

Asian ginseng, the root that gives the whole adaptogen category its reputation. Standardised on ginsenosides, of which there are more than a hundred distinct forms.

What it does in the body

Ginsenosides affect nitric oxide signalling and the way cells respond to oxidative load. The composition differs between species and preparations, which is a large part of why study results vary.

What the research looks at

  • Working memory and mental fatigue
  • Subjective energy during illness and convalescence
  • Blood glucose regulation
Typical daily dose
200–400 mg extract
Time to effect
2–8 weeks
Usually taken
Morning

Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5)

Vitamins In the Blueprint protocol

Named from the Greek for "from everywhere", because it turns up in almost all foods. Outright deficiency is correspondingly rare.

What it does in the body

B5 is the backbone of coenzyme A, which carries acetyl groups into the citric acid cycle and into the synthesis of fatty acids, cholesterol and steroid hormones.

What the research looks at

  • Adrenal steroid synthesis
  • Wound healing
  • Blood lipids at high doses
Typical daily dose
5–500 mg
Time to effect
4–8 weeks
Usually taken
Morning, with food

PQQ (Pyrroloquinoline Quinone)

Energy

A small quinone found in fermented soy, kiwi and human breast milk. It is redox-stable enough to cycle thousands of times, where most antioxidants are consumed after one.

What it does in the body

PQQ activates PGC-1α, the transcription coactivator that signals a cell to build new mitochondria. That is a different mechanism from CoQ10, which supports the mitochondria already present.

What the research looks at

  • Mitochondrial biogenesis markers
  • Sleep quality and fatigue
  • Cognitive performance
Typical daily dose
10–20 mg
Time to effect
4–8 weeks
Usually taken
Morning, with food

Rhodiola Rosea

Energy In the Blueprint protocol

An arctic root that grows on mountainsides and coastal cliffs across Scandinavia and Siberia. Extracts are standardised to rosavins and salidroside, the two marker compounds.

What it does in the body

Rhodiola influences the turnover of serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline, and affects how cells handle energy under load. Unlike ashwagandha it is generally described as activating rather than calming.

What the research looks at

  • Mental fatigue during long working days
  • Physical endurance and perceived exertion
  • Attention and reaction time under stress
Typical daily dose
200–600 mg
Time to effect
1–3 weeks
Usually taken
Morning, before food

Riboflavin (Vitamin B2)

Vitamins

The vitamin that turns urine bright yellow a few hours after a B complex. That is not a problem — it is simply the surplus leaving the body.

What it does in the body

Riboflavin forms FAD and FMN, the two flavin coenzymes that carry electrons through the respiratory chain. It is also required to regenerate glutathione.

What the research looks at

  • Migraine frequency at high doses
  • Energy metabolism and fatigue
  • Homocysteine levels together with folate and B12
Typical daily dose
1.3–400 mg
Time to effect
4–12 weeks
Usually taken
Morning, with food

Taurine

Heart & circulation In the Blueprint protocol

A sulphur-containing amino acid that is not built into proteins. It is abundant in shellfish and meat, and largely absent from plant foods.

What it does in the body

Taurine regulates calcium handling inside cells, stabilises membranes and conjugates bile acids. Concentrations in tissue fall with age, which is why it appears in longevity research.

What the research looks at

  • Blood pressure and cardiac function
  • Exercise performance and recovery
  • Age-related decline in tissue taurine
Typical daily dose
1–3 g
Time to effect
4–8 weeks
Usually taken
Any time of day

Thiamine (Vitamin B1)

Vitamins In the Blueprint protocol

The first B vitamin to be isolated, which is where the number comes from. It is water-soluble and stored only in small amounts, so intake has to be continuous.

What it does in the body

As thiamine pyrophosphate it is a cofactor for the enzymes that move pyruvate into the citric acid cycle. Without it, cells cannot extract energy from carbohydrate efficiently.

What the research looks at

  • Energy metabolism in nerve and muscle tissue
  • Cognitive function where intake is low
  • Status in people with a high alcohol intake
Typical daily dose
1.1–100 mg
Time to effect
2–6 weeks
Usually taken
Morning, with food

Tribulus Terrestris

Hormones

A low-growing plant found across southern Europe and Asia, standardised on steroidal saponins called protodioscins.

What it does in the body

Often sold as a testosterone booster. Controlled trials in healthy men have generally not found an effect on testosterone; the findings that do exist relate mostly to sexual function.

What the research looks at

  • Libido and sexual function
  • Testosterone levels — with largely negative results in healthy men
Typical daily dose
250–750 mg extract
Time to effect
4–12 weeks
Usually taken
With food

Ubiquinol

Energy

The reduced, already-active form of CoQ10. Younger bodies convert ubiquinone to ubiquinol without difficulty; that conversion becomes less efficient with age, which is the argument for buying it pre-reduced.

What it does in the body

Same role in the respiratory chain as ubiquinone, but ubiquinol is the form that actually donates electrons to lipid radicals, so it is the antioxidant-active state of the molecule.

What the research looks at

  • Plasma CoQ10 levels compared with ubiquinone
  • Cardiac output in heart failure
  • Oxidative stress markers
Typical daily dose
100–200 mg
Time to effect
8–12 weeks
Usually taken
With a fat-containing meal

Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin)

Vitamins

The only vitamin that contains a metal atom — cobalt — and the one that is genuinely absent from plant foods. Methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin are the two active forms; cyanocobalamin has to be converted.

What it does in the body

B12 is a cofactor in two reactions: the conversion of homocysteine to methionine, and the handling of methylmalonyl-CoA in fatty acid metabolism. Nerve myelin depends on both.

What the research looks at

  • Homocysteine and methylmalonic acid levels
  • Nerve function and sensation
  • Status on vegan and vegetarian diets
Typical daily dose
2.4 µg–1000 µg
Time to effect
4–12 weeks
Usually taken
Morning, with or without food

Why the form and the dose matter

Two products can name the same ingredient on the label and behave completely differently. Magnesium oxide and magnesium glycinate are both magnesium; only one of them is absorbed properly. Ethyl ester fish oil and triglyceride fish oil are both omega-3. Folic acid and methylfolate are both folate, but not for everyone.

That is the difference this page is written to make visible. Where a form matters we have given it its own entry rather than hiding it inside a general one, and the dose listed is the one used in the research — not the smallest amount a manufacturer can put on a label and still name the ingredient.

We only describe a product as third-party tested when there is documentation behind the claim. Below is what each of our brands actually documents, brand by brand.

Third-party testing

Certificates of analysis

Pick a brand to see what is actually tested and who tests it. Four of the seven publish reports you can open right here — and they publish different amounts, from a certificate for every batch down to a single lot. The other three document their testing and hand over the paperwork for a specific batch when you ask. That difference is worth knowing before you buy, so we have not smoothed it over. Every report is also linked from the product it covers.

Blueprint 24 reports published

Every batch goes to an independent accredited laboratory in the United States, which checks the contents against the label and screens for heavy metals, microbes and other contamination. Blueprint publishes the full report for every batch, and a new one follows each production run.

Supplements

Nutrition

Skincare

Haircare

Lineage Provisions 9 reports published

Samples from every batch are run on ICP-MS, LC-MS and GC-MS and screened for more than three hundred contaminants, among them heavy metals, glyphosate, pesticides and mycotoxins. The analyses are done by Light Labs, who publish a running report per product with every test result in it — not a single certificate but the whole series, with the date of the most recent test.

Supplements

Nutrition

Designs for Health 14 reports published

Raw materials are tested for identity, purity and potency at external ISO-certified laboratories and screened for heavy metals, pesticides and microbiological contamination. A supplier’s own certificate is treated as a claim to verify rather than a result to accept. Certificates are published per lot rather than for the product as a whole, so the one below covers the lot number printed on it and no other — for a different lot, ask us and we will request it.

Supplements

SALTE 1 report published

Each batch is sent to Eurofins, an independent accredited laboratory, which confirms that the sodium, potassium, magnesium and chloride in a sachet match the amounts on the packet. The published report covers five flavours in one document and is the laboratory’s own, in Swedish.

Supplements

ARMRA Testing documented

Every production run is audited by ISO/IEC-accredited third-party laboratories for heavy metals, glyphosate, other contaminants and microbiology before any of it is released for sale. ARMRA documents the programme and its certifications publicly; the report for a specific batch comes from the manufacturer on request.

Quicksilver Scientific Testing documented

Made in an NSF/ANSI 455-2 GMP-certified facility in Colorado with its own ISO/IEC 17025-accredited testing laboratory. Every batch is tested both in-house and by outside laboratories for potency and purity; the certificate for a batch comes from the manufacturer on request.

Solgar Reports on request

Solgar tests raw materials on arrival and finished products before release in its own quality laboratory, and manufactures to GMP. That is an in-house programme, not an outside verification: Solgar carries no NSF or USP certification, so we do not describe it as third-party tested. Batch documentation is available from the manufacturer on request.

Vital Nutrients Testing documented

Vital Nutrients documents a Quality Assurance Programme that engages third-party laboratories — every batch of GMO-susceptible ingredients, for example, is tested for GMO markers at an independent genetics laboratory, and even the bottles are third-party verified BPA-free. Individual lot certificates are not published; documentation for a batch comes from the manufacturer on request.

T.A. Sciences Testing documented

T.A. Sciences documents an end-to-end testing and analysis programme across sourcing, formulation and US manufacturing, and TA-65 has been determined Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) by an independent expert panel. That safety assessment is not batch testing, and no lot certificates are published — documentation comes from the manufacturer on request.

Why testing matters

Why does a supplement need testing at all?

Because nothing else verifies the label. A supplement is regulated as a food, not as a medicine, which means no authority checks each batch before it reaches a shelf. Testing is what turns the number on the tub into something you can look up.

What is being tested for?

Two separate things. Identity and quantity — is the ingredient present, and in the amount the label states. And contamination — heavy metals, microbes, solvent residues and traces from the packaging, which can come from the raw material, the production line or the container.

How often is the label actually wrong?

Often enough to be worth checking. Of 272 supplements implicated in liver injury in the United States, 51 per cent had contents that did not match the label (Hepatology Communications, 2019). Among 57 botanical sports supplements, 89 per cent were inaccurately labelled and 40 per cent contained none of the labelled ingredient at all (JAMA Network Open, 2023).

What can I ask you for?

The report for the batch you were sent. Where a manufacturer does not publish one, we ask them for it — tell us the product and the batch number on the tub and we will come back with what they give us, or with the fact that they would not.

The certificates are the property of the manufacturers and their laboratories, and are linked here in their original location. Blueprint’s reports may not be reused without Blueprint’s permission.

This page is general information about ingredients, not advice for you. Food supplements are not medicines and do not cure, treat or prevent disease. They do not replace a varied diet, sleep, movement or medical care. Doses and timings are those used in published research and on product labels; they are not a recommendation. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or living with a medical condition, talk to a doctor or pharmacist before starting anything new.