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.

13 ingredients

5-HTP (Griffonia simplicifolia)

Sleep

5-hydroxytryptophan, extracted from the seeds of a West African climbing shrub. It is the direct precursor to serotonin, one step further along the pathway than tryptophan.

What it does in the body

5-HTP crosses the blood-brain barrier without competing for transport the way tryptophan does, and is converted to serotonin and onward to melatonin. Vitamin B6 is a cofactor in that conversion, which is why the two are usually formulated together.

What the research looks at

  • Sleep onset and sleep depth
  • Mood and appetite regulation
  • Frequency of migraine attacks
Typical daily dose
50–200 mg
Time to effect
1–4 weeks
Usually taken
Evening, away from protein

Apigenin

Sleep

A flavonoid found in chamomile, parsley and celery. Chamomile tea is the traditional route to it, and the reason that tea is drunk at night.

What it does in the body

Apigenin binds weakly to benzodiazepine sites on GABA-A receptors. It is also studied as an inhibitor of CD38, an enzyme that consumes NAD+.

What the research looks at

  • Sleep quality and time to fall asleep
  • NAD+ levels in tissue
  • Markers of oxidative stress
Typical daily dose
50–100 mg
Time to effect
1–4 weeks
Usually taken
Evening

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

GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid)

Stress

The brain's main inhibitory neurotransmitter. Whether oral GABA crosses the blood-brain barrier is genuinely disputed, which is worth knowing before buying it.

What it does in the body

In the brain GABA dampens neuronal firing. Effects reported after oral doses may come from GABA receptors in the enteric nervous system and the vagus nerve rather than from the brain directly.

What the research looks at

  • Subjective relaxation and stress markers
  • Sleep latency
  • Blood-brain barrier permeability — the open question
Typical daily dose
100–300 mg
Time to effect
30–60 minutes
Usually taken
Evening

Glycine

Sleep In the Blueprint protocol

The smallest amino acid, and a third of every collagen molecule. The body makes some of its own but probably not enough to cover collagen turnover on a diet built around muscle meat.

What it does in the body

Glycine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brainstem and spinal cord, and it lowers core body temperature slightly — the physiological signal that precedes sleep onset.

What the research looks at

  • Sleep quality and next-day alertness
  • Collagen synthesis
  • Glutathione production
Typical daily dose
3 g
Time to effect
Same evening to 4 weeks
Usually taken
30–60 minutes before bed

L-Theanine

Stress In the Blueprint protocol

An amino acid found almost exclusively in tea leaves. It is the reason a cup of green tea feels different from an equivalent dose of coffee.

What it does in the body

Theanine crosses the blood-brain barrier and increases alpha wave activity — the electrical pattern of relaxed alertness. It also modulates glutamate and GABA signalling.

What the research looks at

  • Attention and reaction time, particularly with caffeine
  • Subjective stress and relaxation
  • Sleep quality
Typical daily dose
100–400 mg
Time to effect
30–60 minutes
Usually taken
With caffeine, or in the evening

Magnesium

Minerals In the Blueprint protocol

A cofactor in more than three hundred enzyme reactions, and one of the minerals European diets most often fall short on. The salt matters: citrate and glycinate absorb well, oxide largely does not.

What it does in the body

Magnesium stabilises ATP — the molecule cells actually spend — and regulates calcium flow across membranes, which is why it affects both muscle relaxation and nerve excitability.

What the research looks at

  • Sleep quality and night-time cramping
  • Blood pressure
  • Muscle function and recovery
Typical daily dose
200–400 mg elemental
Time to effect
2–6 weeks
Usually taken
Evening, with food

Magnesium L-Threonate (Magtein®)

Brain & focus

Magnesium bound to threonic acid, a metabolite of vitamin C. It was developed at MIT specifically to get magnesium across the blood-brain barrier, which ordinary magnesium salts do poorly.

What it does in the body

The threonate carrier raises magnesium concentration in cerebrospinal fluid. Magnesium in the brain modulates NMDA receptors and synaptic density, which is the mechanism the cognitive work is built on.

What the research looks at

  • Working memory and executive function
  • Sleep quality
  • Synaptic density in animal models
Typical daily dose
1.5–2 g compound
Time to effect
4–12 weeks
Usually taken
Evening

Magnolia Bark

Stress

Bark from Magnolia officinalis, used in traditional Chinese medicine. The active compounds are the lignans honokiol and magnolol.

What it does in the body

Honokiol and magnolol act as positive modulators of GABA-A receptors, which is the mechanism most sedating botanicals share.

What the research looks at

  • Perceived stress and tension
  • Sleep quality
  • Evening cortisol
Typical daily dose
200–400 mg
Time to effect
1–4 weeks
Usually taken
Evening

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

Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum)

Sleep In the Blueprint protocol

A hard, lacquered bracket fungus called the mushroom of immortality in Chinese texts. It is too woody to eat, so it is always taken as an extract.

What it does in the body

Triterpenes give reishi its bitterness and are linked to its calming reputation; beta-glucans are the immune-active fraction. A dual extract is needed because the two dissolve in different solvents.

What the research looks at

  • Sleep quality and fatigue
  • Immune cell markers
  • Blood pressure and lipids
Typical daily dose
1–3 g extract
Time to effect
4–12 weeks
Usually taken
Evening

Tryptophan

Sleep

An essential amino acid, meaning the body cannot make it and it has to come from food. Turkey gets the reputation, but eggs, oats and cheese contain more per gram.

What it does in the body

Tryptophan is the raw material for serotonin and, by extension, melatonin. It competes with other large neutral amino acids for transport into the brain, which is why it is taken away from protein-rich meals.

What the research looks at

  • Sleep latency and night-time waking
  • Mood under stress
Typical daily dose
500–2000 mg
Time to effect
1–3 weeks
Usually taken
Evening, on an empty stomach

Valerian Root

Sleep

A perennial European herb whose root has been used as a sleep aid since antiquity. The smell is unmistakable and comes from valerenic acid and its relatives.

What it does in the body

Valerenic acid binds to GABA-A receptors, the same family benzodiazepines act on, though far more weakly and without the same dependency profile.

What the research looks at

  • Time taken to fall asleep
  • Subjective sleep quality
  • Restlessness and tension
Typical daily dose
300–600 mg extract
Time to effect
Same evening to 2 weeks
Usually taken
30–60 minutes before bed

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.