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.

16 ingredients

Ashwagandha (KSM-66)

Stress In the Blueprint protocol

An adaptogenic root used in ayurvedic medicine for more than three thousand years. KSM-66 is a full-spectrum root extract standardised to a fixed level of withanolides, which is why it is the form most of the clinical work has been done on.

What it does in the body

Ashwagandha acts on the HPA axis, the loop between the hypothalamus, the pituitary and the adrenal glands that regulates the body's stress response. It also interacts with GABA receptors, which is thought to explain why it is calming without being sedating.

What the research looks at

  • Perceived stress and cortisol levels
  • Sleep onset and sleep quality
  • Strength training adaptations
  • Testosterone levels in men
Typical daily dose
300–600 mg
Time to effect
4–8 weeks
Usually taken
Evening, with food

Boron

Minerals In the Blueprint protocol

A trace element found in fruit, nuts and pulses. It has no officially set requirement in the EU, but intakes vary by a factor of ten between diets.

What it does in the body

Boron affects how the body handles calcium, magnesium and vitamin D, and influences the amount of free testosterone and oestradiol by reducing how much is bound to carrier proteins.

What the research looks at

  • Free testosterone and oestradiol levels
  • Bone metabolism and calcium retention
  • Joint comfort
Typical daily dose
3–10 mg
Time to effect
1–8 weeks
Usually taken
With food

DHEA

Hormones

A steroid hormone made by the adrenal glands, and the most abundant one in circulation. It peaks in the twenties and falls by around eighty per cent by the age of seventy. It is a prescription medicine in most European countries.

What it does in the body

DHEA is a precursor the body converts into testosterone and oestradiol. Because it sits upstream, the effect depends on which enzymes are active in a given tissue and in a given person.

What the research looks at

  • Bone density in older adults
  • Adrenal insufficiency
  • Sexual function
Typical daily dose
Prescription-dependent
Time to effect
8–24 weeks
Usually taken
Morning

DIM (Diindolylmethane)

Hormones

Formed in the stomach when indole-3-carbinol from broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts meets stomach acid. Eating the vegetables gives the precursor; the supplement gives the product.

What it does in the body

DIM shifts oestrogen metabolism in the liver towards the 2-hydroxy pathway rather than the 16-hydroxy one, changing the ratio between metabolites rather than the total amount of hormone.

What the research looks at

  • Ratio of 2-hydroxy to 16-hydroxy oestrogen metabolites
  • Hormone-related cyclical symptoms
  • Prostate markers
Typical daily dose
100–200 mg
Time to effect
4–12 weeks
Usually taken
With a fat-containing meal

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

Inositol

Hormones

A sugar alcohol the body makes from glucose, once called vitamin B8. Myo-inositol and D-chiro-inositol are the two forms used in supplements, often in a 40:1 ratio.

What it does in the body

Inositol is part of the second messenger system that carries signals from insulin and several hormone receptors into the cell interior.

What the research looks at

  • Insulin sensitivity and ovulation in PCOS
  • Anxiety and panic symptoms
  • Metabolic markers
Typical daily dose
2–4 g
Time to effect
8–12 weeks
Usually taken
Split morning and evening

Iodine

Minerals In the Blueprint protocol

A trace mineral found mainly in seafood, seaweed and iodised salt. Countries that stopped iodising salt have seen intake fall again within a generation.

What it does in the body

Thyroid hormone is built around iodine atoms — four in T4, three in T3. Without iodine the gland cannot make the hormone that sets the body's metabolic rate.

What the research looks at

  • Thyroid hormone production
  • Cognitive development in children
  • Intake on plant-based diets without iodised salt
Typical daily dose
150 µg
Time to effect
4–12 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

Melatonin

Sleep

The hormone the pineal gland releases when light fades. In several EU countries it is available over the counter at low doses and is a prescription medicine at higher ones.

What it does in the body

Melatonin is a timing signal, not a sedative: it tells the body which part of the day it is. That is why the timing of the dose matters more than the size of it, and why very large doses are not more effective.

What the research looks at

  • Time to fall asleep and jet lag
  • Shift work and circadian realignment
  • Antioxidant activity in mitochondria
Typical daily dose
0.5–3 mg
Time to effect
Same evening
Usually taken
30–60 minutes before bed

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

Saw Palmetto

Hair

Berries from a dwarf palm native to the south-eastern United States, extracted for their fatty acids and sterols.

What it does in the body

Saw palmetto is studied as an inhibitor of 5-alpha-reductase, the enzyme that converts testosterone into dihydrotestosterone — the androgen involved in both prostate growth and pattern hair loss.

What the research looks at

  • Urinary symptoms in benign prostate enlargement
  • Androgenetic hair loss
  • DHT levels in scalp tissue
Typical daily dose
160–320 mg extract
Time to effect
8–24 weeks
Usually taken
With food

Selenium

Minerals In the Blueprint protocol

A trace mineral whose content in food depends entirely on the soil the crop grew in. European soils are comparatively poor in it; a single Brazil nut can cover a day's requirement.

What it does in the body

Selenium is built into selenoproteins, including glutathione peroxidase and the deiodinase enzymes that convert thyroid hormone T4 into the active T3.

What the research looks at

  • Thyroid antibody levels
  • Antioxidant enzyme activity
  • Immune function
Typical daily dose
55–200 µg
Time to effect
8–12 weeks
Usually taken
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

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine / P-5-P)

Vitamins In the Blueprint protocol

Sold either as pyridoxine hydrochloride or as pyridoxal-5-phosphate, the active coenzyme form the liver would otherwise have to make itself.

What it does in the body

B6 is a cofactor in more than a hundred enzyme reactions, including the synthesis of serotonin, dopamine and GABA, and the conversion of homocysteine to cysteine.

What the research looks at

  • Homocysteine levels together with folate and B12
  • Premenstrual symptoms
  • Neurotransmitter synthesis
Typical daily dose
1.4–25 mg
Time to effect
4–8 weeks
Usually taken
Morning, with food

Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol)

Vitamins In the Blueprint protocol

Technically a hormone rather than a vitamin. Skin makes it from sunlight, but above roughly 40 degrees latitude the sun sits too low from October to March for that to work at all — which covers most of Europe.

What it does in the body

Cholecalciferol is hydroxylated in the liver and then the kidney into calcitriol, which binds a nuclear receptor present in most tissues and regulates several hundred genes, including those governing calcium absorption.

What the research looks at

  • Calcium absorption and bone density
  • Respiratory infections during winter
  • Muscle strength in older adults
Typical daily dose
1000–4000 IU
Time to effect
8–12 weeks
Usually taken
With the largest meal of the day

Zinc

Minerals In the Blueprint protocol

A trace mineral present in the active site of hundreds of enzymes. There is no storage depot for it, so a few weeks of low intake shows up in function rather than in a reserve being drawn down.

What it does in the body

Zinc is structural in zinc-finger proteins that read DNA, required for T-cell maturation, and a cofactor in the enzymes that build collagen and keratin.

What the research looks at

  • Duration of common colds
  • Wound healing and acne
  • Testosterone levels where intake is low
Typical daily dose
10–25 mg
Time to effect
4–12 weeks
Usually taken
With food, away from iron and calcium

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.