Reading a Brain Supplement Label: Ingredient Forms, Extract Ratios and Serving Sizes

What must be on the panel

The FDA says US supplement labels must carry a Supplement Facts panel with serving size, number of servings per container, a list of all dietary ingredients and the amount per serving. [1] The front must identify the product as a dietary supplement or similar term. [1] Ingredients that are not dietary ingredients, such as binders and fillers, go in a separate ingredient statement. [2] That statement is the place to look for allergens.

Serving size

One serving is the maximum amount the label recommends per eating occasion, or one unit (tablet, capsule, scoop) if there is no recommendation. [2] A label saying to use one to three capsules therefore lists amounts for three. [2] Check whether the figure you are comparing is per capsule or per serving. This is a label-reading point, not a suggestion about how much to use.

Ingredient form and "amount"

• Dietary ingredients with no Daily Value. Most brain ingredients have no Daily Value. The FDA calls these "other dietary ingredients"; they are listed by name with a weight per serving and a footnote "Daily Value Not Established." [2] With no percentage, the panel gives no sense of "enough."
• The weight can refer to a source or a form. For a mineral supplied as a salt, the guide requires listing the weight of the mineral, not the salt. [2] For botanicals, the part of the plant must be listed. [2]
• Forms are not interchangeable. Study results belong to the form and amount tested. The NCCIH digest on cognition notes that treatments in ginkgo studies varied in amount and duration. [3] See what trials measure.

Extracts and "ratios"

• Dried extract. If the solvent has been removed, the label lists the weight of the dried extract. [2] That weight is the extract, not the amount of any one active compound.
• Liquid extract. The label lists the volume or weight of the total extract and the condition of the starting material. It may add concentration and solvent, in the FDA's example "(y:z)", where y is the weight of the starting material and z the volume of solvent. [2]
• Constituents. A company may list a constituent under the ingredient with its weight per serving. [2]
• "Standardized". NCCIH says that use of the word "standardized" (or "verified" or "certified") does not necessarily guarantee quality or consistency. [4]

Proper evidence not found for what a ratio such as "10:1" on a supplement label guarantees. We searched the FDA labeling guide and NCCIH label guidance. Ask the manufacturer or a pharmacist what a ratio means for that product.

Proprietary blends

The guide describes listing a blend's total weight and its ingredients in descending order by weight. [2] Individual amounts are not described, so you cannot compare a blend with a study. A 2024 label survey of 1,209 supplements sold on two US Army installations found 21% contained a proprietary blend, matrix or complex. [5] Read proprietary blends in brain supplements.

Claims on the front

Structure/function statements carry the disclaimer that the FDA has not evaluated them. [6] They are not proof of effect. See brain supplement marketing claims checked.

What a label cannot show

• Laboratory studies found missing ingredients, unlisted drugs and amounts that did not match labels in selected memory and focus products. [7][8]
• NCCIH says what is on the label may not be what is in the product. [4]
• Third-party seals are described on quality testing and certifications.