Ingredient directory

The most researched sports supplement in existence.

Typical: 3–5 g

The form of vitamin D the body makes from sunlight and the most effective supplemental form for raising blood levels.

Typical: 1,000–2,000 IU

Fish oil concentrate is a refined marine oil enriched in the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

Typical: 500–2,000 mg

A chelated form of magnesium bound to the amino acid glycine.

Typical: 200–350 mg

Ascorbic acid is the reference form of vitamin C and the most common form in supplements; NIH ODS notes its bioavailability equals that of vitamin C naturally present in food.

Typical: 250–1,000 mg

Whey filtered to 90% or more protein by weight, with most lactose and fat removed.

Typical: 20–30 g

Purified, dehydrated caffeine — the standard stimulant in pre-workouts, energy, and focus products.

Typical: 100–200 mg

A branded, root-only ashwagandha extract standardized to at least 5% withanolides.

Typical: 300–600 mg

Enzymatically hydrolyzed collagen from bovine hide or bone, delivering short peptides rich in glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline.

Typical: 2.5–15 g

Melatonin is the hormone the pineal gland releases in darkness to signal night to the body clock.

Typical: 0.5–3 mg

A generic placeholder for a multi-strain probiotic blend, typically combining several Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species and sometimes Streptococcus thermophilus or a Bacillus spore.

Typical: 10–50 B CFU

A generic, non-branded ashwagandha root extract standardized to at least 5% withanolides.

Typical: 300–600 mg

Magnesium bound to citric acid, one of the best-selling magnesium forms because it is inexpensive, dissolves readily, and has shown good bioavailability in comparison studies.

Typical: 150–350 mg

Whey concentrated by ultrafiltration to 70–80% protein, retaining more lactose, fat, and native bioactive fractions than isolate.

Typical: 25–35 g

The most concentrated and least expensive common calcium salt, supplying about 40% elemental calcium by weight.

Typical: 250–600 mg

Coenzyme Q10 in its oxidized form, ubiquinone, is the standard, most-studied CoQ10 ingredient.

Typical: 100–300 mg

A concentrated turmeric rhizome extract standardized to 95% curcuminoids, the form used in most joint and inflammation research.

Typical: 500–1,500 mg

An amino acid found naturally in green tea that promotes a calm, focused state without sedation.

Typical: 100–200 mg

LGG (Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, ATCC 53103) is the single most studied probiotic strain, isolated in 1985 and since reclassified as Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus.

Typical: 1–10 B CFU

Cyanocobalamin is the synthetic, highly stable form of vitamin B12 used in most supplements and fortified foods.

Typical: 100–1,000 mcg

An isoquinoline alkaloid isolated from plants such as barberry, goldenseal, and Coptis, supplied as the hydrochloride salt.

Typical: 900–1,500 mg

A non-essential amino acid that combines with histidine to form carnosine, the main intramuscular buffer of hydrogen ions during intense exercise.

Typical: 3.2–6.4 g

Folic acid is the fully oxidized, synthetic form of folate used in food fortification and most supplements.

Typical: 400–800 mcg

Bifidobacterium animalis subsp.

Typical: 1–10 B CFU

A generic electrolyte blend is a placeholder for an unspecified mixture of sodium, potassium, and magnesium salts (sometimes with calcium and chloride) used in hydration and endurance powders.

Typical: 500–1,500 mg

A leaf extract of Camellia sinensis concentrated for catechins, especially EGCG, with a small amount of naturally occurring caffeine.

Typical: 300–500 mg

A non-protein amino acid that the kidneys convert to arginine, raising plasma arginine more efficiently than oral arginine itself.

Typical: 6–8 g

The most concentrated magnesium source at about 60% elemental magnesium, which is why it dominates in multivitamins and small tablets.

Typical: 200–350 mg

A blend of the three branched-chain amino acids, most often at a 2:1:1 ratio of leucine to isoleucine to valine, that has been a staple of intra-workout drinks for decades.

Typical: 5–10 g

An extract of black elderberry fruit standardized to anthocyanins, the dark purple pigments, and one of the most popular immune-season botanicals.

Typical: 300–1,200 mg

A calcium salt of citric acid that does not rely on stomach acid to dissolve, so it can be taken with or without food and is often chosen for older adults and people on acid-reducing medication.

Typical: 200–500 mg

A salt of citrulline and malic acid, most often in a 2:1 ratio, that has been the traditional form in pre-workouts.

Typical: 6–8 g

Inulin is a soluble, fermentable fructan fiber extracted mainly from chicory root, though it also occurs in Jerusalem artichoke, agave, and onions.

Typical: 5–10 g

Lion's mane is an edible tooth fungus whose fruiting body and mycelium contain hericenones and erinacines alongside beta-glucan polysaccharides.

Typical: 500–1,000 mg

The pungent alkaloid isolated from black pepper fruit, used in tiny amounts to raise the absorption of other ingredients rather than for its own effects.

Typical: 5–20 mg

The most common zinc salt in multivitamins, lozenges, and immune products, containing about 14.3% elemental zinc.

Typical: 10–25 mg

An extract of the aerial parts and root of purple coneflower, the classic North American immune herb.

Typical: 300–1,500 mg

A sulfur-containing amino acid abundant in muscle, heart, and brain, and a familiar ingredient in energy drinks and pre-workouts.

Typical: 1–3 g

The succinate ester of natural (RRR or d-) alpha-tocopherol, the one vitamin E form the body maintains in plasma and the form on which the RDA is based.

Typical: 67–268 mg

A concentrated extract of ginger rhizome standardized to gingerols, the pungent compounds responsible for most of its studied effects.

Typical: 250–1,000 mg

The most abundant free amino acid in blood and muscle and a primary fuel for intestinal and immune cells.

Typical: 5–10 g

Saccharomyces boulardii is a probiotic yeast rather than a bacterium, originally isolated from lychee and mangosteen skins.

Typical: 5–10 B CFU

Methylcobalamin is one of the two coenzyme forms of vitamin B12 that the body uses directly, in this case for the methionine synthase reaction that recycles homocysteine and supports methylation.

Typical: 100–1,000 mcg

Dried and milled beet root or beet juice, used in pre-workout, endurance, and heart-health powders as a whole-food source of dietary nitrate.

Typical: 5–10 g

Trivalent chromium chelated with three picolinate ligands, the form used in most human trials and the best seller in blood-sugar and weight-management formulas.

Typical: 200–500 mcg

A free-form blend of all nine essential amino acids, typically leucine-weighted, that provides the complete substrate for muscle protein synthesis without the bulk of a full protein serving.

Typical: 6–15 g

A generic greens blend is a placeholder for the dried plant powders typical of greens products: cereal grasses such as wheatgrass and barley grass, spirulina and chlorella, leafy vegetables like spinach and kale, and often fruit or vegetable extracts.

Typical: 3–10 g

Ferrous iron chelated with two glycine molecules, the form most prenatal and gentle-iron products now use.

Typical: 18–30 mg

The organic selenium form found in Brazil nuts, grains, and selenium yeast, in which selenium replaces sulfur in the amino acid methionine.

Typical: 50–200 mcg

Lactobacillus acidophilus is the most widely recognized probiotic species and a staple of yogurt cultures and multi-strain capsules.

Typical: 1–10 B CFU

MCT oil is a clear, flavorless oil made by fractionating coconut or palm kernel oil to isolate the medium-chain fatty acids caprylic (C8) and capric (C10) acid as triglycerides.

Typical: 5–15 g

Ordinary salt, about 39% sodium and 61% chloride by weight, and the primary electrolyte lost in sweat.

Typical: 200–1,000 mg

Zinc chelated with picolinic acid, a tryptophan metabolite that is proposed to aid mineral transport across the gut wall.

Typical: 10–25 mg

Bacillus coagulans is a spore-forming, lactic-acid-producing bacterium whose spores survive stomach acid, heat, and dry storage far better than vegetative Lactobacillus cells.

Typical: 1–2 B CFU

A leaf extract from the ginkgo tree standardized to flavone glycosides and terpene lactones, long used in memory and circulation formulas.

Typical: 120–240 mg

The simplest amino acid and a major building block of collagen, glutathione, and creatine.

Typical: 3–5 g

Menaquinone-7 is the long-chain vitamin K2 originally isolated from natto and now made by Bacillus fermentation or synthesis.

Typical: 90–200 mcg

Biotin is a water-soluble B vitamin that serves as the cofactor for five carboxylase enzymes in fatty acid, glucose, and amino acid metabolism.

Typical: 300–5,000 mcg

A conditionally essential amino acid that serves as the direct precursor to dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine.

Typical: 500–2,000 mg

A lipid-sterol extract of saw palmetto berries, standardized to fatty acids, that is the most widely used botanical in men's prostate and urinary-comfort products.

Typical: 320 mg

Alpha-lipoic acid is a sulfur-containing compound that serves as a mitochondrial enzyme cofactor and a water- and fat-soluble antioxidant.

Typical: 300–600 mg

Bifidobacterium longum is one of the dominant bifidobacteria of the adult human colon.

Typical: 1–10 B CFU

An acetylated form of the amino acid cysteine that is the rate-limiting precursor for glutathione, the body's principal intracellular antioxidant.

Typical: 600–1,800 mg

Psyllium husk is the seed coat of Plantago ovata, a soluble, gel-forming fiber that holds many times its weight in water.

Typical: 5–10 g

Reishi is a woody polypore used for centuries in East Asian herbal traditions and now sold mainly as a hot-water or dual extract of the fruiting body.

Typical: 1,000–1,500 mg

A root extract from an arctic and alpine plant, standardized to rosavins and salidroside, that is used in energy, focus, and stress formulas.

Typical: 200–600 mg

Apple cider vinegar powder is liquid vinegar spray-dried onto a carrier such as maltodextrin or cyclodextrin so it can be used in capsules and gummies.

Typical: 500–1,500 mg

A cruciferous root grown in the Peruvian Andes, dried and milled into a powder used in libido, energy, and hormone-balance formulas.

Typical: 1,500–3,000 mg

MSM is an organic sulfur compound found in small amounts in plants, milk, and the body.

Typical: 1,500–3,000 mg

A plant protein isolated from yellow split peas, containing about 80–85% protein with a favorable essential-amino-acid profile for a legume.

Typical: 20–30 g

Pyridoxine hydrochloride is the standard, inexpensive, and highly stable form of vitamin B6 used in nearly all multivitamins and B-complex products.

Typical: 1.7–50 mg

The predominant protein in milk, which forms a gel in the stomach and releases amino acids slowly over several hours.

Typical: 20–40 g

The reference iron salt used in most clinical research and public-health programs, inexpensive and reliably absorbed.

Typical: 18–45 mg

Krill oil is extracted from Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), a small crustacean.

Typical: 500–2,000 mg

Lactobacillus reuteri is a native human gut and breast-milk organism, now classified as Limosilactobacillus reuteri.

Typical: 0.1–1 B CFU

Lutein is a yellow xanthophyll carotenoid that concentrates in the macula of the eye, where it filters blue light and quenches reactive oxygen species.

Typical: 10–20 mg

Maltodextrin is a partially hydrolyzed starch consisting of short glucose chains, characterized by a dextrose-equivalent (DE) value that indicates how far the starch has been broken down.

Typical: 15–30 g

The root of Asian ginseng, standardized to ginsenosides, used in energy, fatigue, and vitality products.

Typical: 200–400 mg

The most concentrated common potassium source at about 52% elemental potassium, and the salt used in most blood-pressure trials of potassium supplementation.

Typical: 99–500 mg

The standard iodine source in multivitamins, prenatals, and thyroid-support formulas, about 76.5% iodine by weight and absorbed almost completely.

Typical: 150–300 mcg

Trans-resveratrol is a stilbene polyphenol found in grape skin, red wine, and, in far higher concentration, Japanese knotweed root, which is the usual commercial source.

Typical: 150–500 mg

Zinc chelated with two glycine molecules, sold as a gentle, well-absorbed form for people who get nausea from zinc salts.

Typical: 10–25 mg

An acetylated form of carnitine that crosses the blood-brain barrier more readily than carnitine itself and donates acetyl groups for acetylcholine synthesis.

Typical: 500–2,000 mg

A seed extract of milk thistle standardized to silymarin, a flavonolignan complex, and the best-known botanical in liver-support formulas.

Typical: 140–420 mg

Niacinamide is the amide form of vitamin B3 and the niacin source used in most multivitamins because it delivers full NAD-precursor activity without the skin flush of nicotinic acid.

Typical: 16–35 mg

A branded water-extracted ashwagandha made from both leaf and root and standardized to a minimum of 10% withanolide glycosides, which lets it work at a smaller dose than root-only extracts.

Typical: 125–250 mg

Ubiquinol is the reduced, active antioxidant form of coenzyme Q10 and the form that predominates in blood.

Typical: 100–200 mg

Cordyceps militaris is the cultivated, fruiting-body species that has replaced wild Cordyceps sinensis in most supplements because it grows on grain or liquid substrate at scale and contains measurable cordycepin.

Typical: 1,000–3,000 mg

Cranberry extract is prepared from the whole fruit or juice of Vaccinium macrocarpon and is characterized by A-type proanthocyanidins (PACs) that are studied for anti-adhesion activity against bacteria in the urinary tract.

Typical: 250–500 mg

A stable, highly soluble salt of L-carnitine with tartaric acid, the form most used in exercise-recovery research.

Typical: 1,000–2,000 mg

The immediate precursor to serotonin, extracted commercially from Griffonia simplicifolia seeds.

Typical: 50–300 mg

An extract of German chamomile flowers standardized to apigenin, the flavone behind much of its calming reputation.

Typical: 220–1,100 mg

L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate is the main circulating form of folate and the form cells use directly for homocysteine remethylation, so it bypasses the MTHFR enzyme step that is less active in people carrying the common 677C>T variant.

Typical: 400–1,000 mcg

The brain's main inhibitory neurotransmitter, sold as a supplement for relaxation and sleep.

Typical: 100–500 mg

Guarana is the seed of Paullinia cupana, an Amazonian vine whose seeds contain more caffeine by weight than coffee beans, along with theobromine and tannins.

Typical: 100–400 mg

Lactase splits milk sugar (lactose) into glucose and galactose.

A root extract from a Southeast Asian shrub used in men's vitality, stress, and libido formulas.

Typical: 200–400 mg

Retinyl palmitate is an ester of retinol and the most common preformed vitamin A used in supplements and multivitamins.

Typical: 750–1,050 mcg

Algal DHA is docosahexaenoic acid produced by fermenting marine microalgae such as Schizochytrium, the same organisms that fish obtain their DHA from.

Typical: 200–500 mg

Astaxanthin is a red keto-carotenoid produced by the microalga Haematococcus pluvialis and responsible for the pink color of salmon and krill.

Typical: 4–12 mg

An extract of a creeping wetland herb from traditional Indian practice, standardized to bacosides, that is one of the better-studied botanical nootropics for memory.

Typical: 300–450 mg

An essential amino acid and the dietary precursor to serotonin and melatonin.

Typical: 500–2,000 mg

Lactobacillus plantarum is a versatile lactic acid bacterium found in fermented vegetables and sourdough, now classified as Lactiplantibacillus plantarum.

Typical: 1–10 B CFU

A magnesium salt of L-threonic acid, a vitamin C metabolite, developed at MIT as a form that raises brain magnesium in animal models.

Typical: 100–144 mg

MCT oil powder is MCT oil spray-dried onto a carbohydrate carrier, most often acacia gum or maltodextrin, to produce a free-flowing powder that disperses in water.

Typical: 5–10 g

Myo-inositol is a sugar alcohol the body makes from glucose and the most abundant inositol isomer in cells, where it forms the backbone of phosphatidylinositol signaling lipids and the second messengers that relay insulin and hormone signals.

Typical: 2–4 g

Quercetin dihydrate is the standard crystalline form of the flavonol quercetin, typically extracted from Sophora japonica flower buds and supplied at 95% or higher purity.

Typical: 500–1,000 mg

Baking soda, used in sports nutrition as an extracellular buffer that raises blood bicarbonate before high-intensity efforts lasting roughly one to ten minutes.

Typical: 14–21 g

A gum resin extract from the Boswellia serrata tree standardized to total boswellic acids, used in joint-comfort formulas often alongside curcumin.

Typical: 300–500 mg

Hyaluronic acid is a large glycosaminoglycan that holds water in skin, joint fluid, and connective tissue.

Typical: 80–200 mg

An essential amino acid that is limiting in grain-based diets and is needed for collagen cross-linking, carnitine synthesis, and calcium handling.

Typical: 1,000–3,000 mg

Spirulina is a dried cyanobacterium (Arthrospira platensis or A.

Typical: 1–5 g

A conditionally essential amino acid and the direct substrate for nitric-oxide synthase.

Typical: 3–6 g

A root extract of valerian standardized to valerenic acids, one of the oldest and most widely sold herbal sleep aids.

Typical: 300–600 mg

Chemically identical cholecalciferol extracted from lichen rather than sheep's wool lanolin, which lets a product carry vegan and vegetarian claims while keeping the D3 form that raises and holds serum 25(OH)D better than D2.

Typical: 1,000–2,000 IU

A methyl donor derived from sugar beets that lowers homocysteine and acts as an osmolyte in muscle cells.

Typical: 1.25–2.5 g

Bifidobacterium infantis, now classified as B.

Typical: 1–10 B CFU

Black cohosh is a North American herb whose root and rhizome have been studied for decades in women going through menopause.

Typical: 20–40 mg

A branded curcumin delivery form in which curcuminoids are complexed with sunflower lecithin (a phytosome) to improve uptake.

Typical: 500–1,000 mg

Phosphatidylserine is a phospholipid concentrated in neuronal membranes where it supports receptor function, neurotransmitter release, and signaling.

Typical: 100–300 mg