Beta alanine and the brain: carnosine, thinking tests and limits

• L-Arginine (base + AKG extract)400 mg on the label

  Studies: 6.4 g a day in one memory pilot; up to 30 g a day for 90 days in a safety trial. Studies used about 16 to 75 times the label amount. (Teotia 2026, oral arginine pilot) (McNeal 2018, arginine 30 g safety)

• L-Citrulline (HCl + malate)200 mg on the label

  Studies: 3 to 9 g a day in exercise and blood pressure trials; no memory trial found. Studies used about 15 to 45 times the label amount. (Chen 2016, BCAA arginine citrulline) (Trexler 2019, citrulline meta)

• Beta Alanine40 mg on the label

  Studies: 1.6 to 6.4 g a day; ISSN says 4 to 6 g a day; no cognitive change in the one test found. Studies used about 40 to 160 times the label amount. (Hoffman 2014, beta-alanine soldiers) (ISSN beta-alanine stand)

• Niacin7.5 mg on the label

  Reference: 16 mg NE is the Daily Value; 35 mg a day is the upper limit for supplements. The label is 47% of the Daily Value and 21% of the upper limit for supplements. (NIH ODS, Niacin)

• Calcium18 mg on the label

  Reference: adults need about 1,000 mg a day from all sources; the cognition trial used 1,000 mg with vitamin D. The label is about 2% of what an adult man needs in a day. (NIH ODS, Calcium) (Rossom 2012, WHI calcium + D)

Label amount per capsuleRange used in studiesReference level

Log scale: each gridline is ten times the one before. Studied ranges are daily amounts from the trials linked on each row; the arginine row compares the label's 400 mg (200 mg base plus 200 mg of an AKG extract) with arginine studies, and the citrulline row 200 mg (two forms) with citrulline studies. Niacin and calcium rows show reference levels, not study doses. A bar being far away does not mean the capsule is unsafe or useless; it means the study results cannot be borrowed for it.