Ingredient 01 · amount not disclosed
L-Arginine
Amino acid · NO precursor
Limited (oral)
The claim: Manufacturer says it converts to nitric oxide and widens brain blood vessels.
The evidence: L-arginine is a genuine nitric oxide precursor. The problem is oral delivery: swallowed arginine is heavily broken down by arginase in the gut wall and liver before it reaches circulation, so plasma arginine rises far less than the dose suggests. This first-pass problem is the specific reason sports-nutrition formulas moved to citrulline.
On cognition specifically: No established effect on memory or recall in healthy adults.
Ingredient 02 · amount not disclosed
L-Arginine AKG 2:1
Arginine bound to alpha-ketoglutarate
Limited
The claim: Manufacturer says the AKG bond improves absorption and extends the effect all day.
The evidence: AAKG was popular in pre-workout formulas in the 2000s. Controlled trials have generally failed to show it raises nitric oxide or performance meaningfully more than plain arginine. The 'slow release throughout the day' description is a marketing claim, not a documented pharmacokinetic property.
On cognition specifically: No cognitive trials support the claim made for it here.
Ingredient 03 · amount not disclosed
L-Citrulline HCl
Amino acid · arginine precursor
Moderate (blood flow)
The claim: Manufacturer says it recycles into arginine for continuous nitric oxide production.
The evidence: This is the most defensible ingredient in the formula. Citrulline bypasses the gut and liver breakdown that limits arginine, is converted to arginine in the kidneys, and reliably raises plasma arginine and nitric oxide markers. Research doses are typically 3–6 g daily.
On cognition specifically: Blood-flow effects are real; a resulting memory benefit has not been demonstrated.
Ingredient 04 · amount not disclosed
L-Citrulline Malate
Citrulline bound to malic acid
Moderate (exercise)
The claim: Manufacturer says malate clears metabolic waste behind end-of-day brain fatigue.
The evidence: Citrulline malate is one of the best-studied ingredients in sports nutrition, at 6–8 g doses, for reducing muscular fatigue and increasing training volume. Malate does feed the citric acid cycle. Every one of those studies measured exercise output, not mental fatigue.
On cognition specifically: The 'heavy-headed at the end of the day' claim is an extrapolation, not a finding.
Ingredient 05 · amount not disclosed
Niacin (Vitamin B3)
Essential vitamin · NAD+ precursor
Strong (as a vitamin)
The claim: Manufacturer says it powers neuronal energy and improves brain microcirculation.
The evidence: Niacin is genuinely essential and genuinely a precursor to NAD+. Severe deficiency (pellagra) does cause confusion and memory loss, and correcting it reverses that. The gap in the claim is that virtually nobody in a developed country is deficient, and topping up a nutrient you already have enough of does not add function.
On cognition specifically: Corrects a deficiency you almost certainly do not have. Also the ingredient most likely to produce a noticeable effect — flushing — which is easily read as the product 'working'.
Ingredient 06 · amount not disclosed
Beta-Alanine
Amino acid · carnosine precursor
Strong (muscle only)
The claim: Manufacturer says it raises brain carnosine and shields neurons from age-related wear.
The evidence: Beta-alanine reliably raises carnosine — in skeletal muscle, where it buffers acid during high-intensity effort lasting one to four minutes. That literature is solid and it is why the ingredient sells. Human brain carnosine elevation from oral beta-alanine is not established.
On cognition specifically: This is the clearest mismatch in the formula: a well-evidenced muscle ingredient described as a neuroprotectant.