The best case
This page does not estimate what is in a bottle of Cognizil. It works out the most that can be, grants the label every benefit of the doubt it asks for, and then looks at what is left.
Cognizil's Proprietary Blend declares 15.47 mg shared by twenty-one ingredients. Federal rules require them to be listed heaviest first, so the ingredient at position k cannot exceed 15.47 ÷ k milligrams.
Granting that maximum and the label's own 20:1 extract-equivalent claim in full, fourteen of the sixteen ingredients with a verified researched dose still cannot reach it — by between 1.5 and nearly 6,800 times.
Two rules, and what they leave open
A proprietary blend is a legal construction. The regulation that governs it, 21 CFR 101.36(c), does two things at once, and the second gives back a little of what the first takes away.
What it permits
The individual amounts inside a blend need not be disclosed. The blend is named and the total weight of everything in it is printed on the same line to the right of that name.
15.47 mg, and no more detail
What it requires
The ingredients must still be listed by name, indented beneath it, in descending order of predominance by weight. That ordering is not optional, and it applies to liquids exactly as it does to capsules.
Heaviest first, lightest last
The derivation, in one line
If w1 ≥ w2 ≥ … ≥ w21 and they sum to 15.47 mg, then k × wk ≤ 15.47, so wk ≤ 15.47 ÷ k.
That is the whole of it. No assumption about the formula, no estimate, no insider knowledge — an upper bound that follows from the printed total and the regulation.
The chart
Every row placed at its maximum, with the extract multiplier granted in full. The bar length is how far short that best case still falls.
This chart is not an estimate of what is in the bottle. It is the most that can be, with two generous assumptions granted at once — and the conclusion survives both.
Fourteen of the sixteen ingredients with a verified researched dose cannot reach it, even here. The two that do — grape seed and guarana — reach only the bottom of their studied ranges, and only because we credited the extract multiplier in full.
The shortfalls run from 1.5× at the best to 6,787× at the worst. That is four orders of magnitude, which is why the default scale on this chart is logarithmic: on a linear scale the fourteen short bars would be a single indistinguishable smear at the far end.
Added the other way round: the lowest researched dose of every ingredient that has one totals 25.9 grams. The blend is 15.47 milligrams. It would need to be about 1,673 times larger.
Switch the scale to linear once. It is worth doing: fourteen bars collapse into one indistinguishable mass at the far right, which is a fair visual summary of the problem and a useless chart.
The second assumption, and why it is too generous
Most ingredients on this panel carry a ^, defined at the foot of the panel as “sourced from a concentrate with a 20:1 extract equivalent”. One carries a * for 10:1. The chart above treats those as though a milligram of extract did the work of twenty milligrams of raw herb.
That is not what a drug-extract ratio means. A 2022 review in Frontiers in Pharmacology calls it “the most common misconception regarding plant to extract ratios” — that a higher ratio represents a stronger and therefore better extract. The ratio is a yield figure: how many parts of dried raw material went in to produce one part of extract. Actual potency depends on the solvent, the temperature, the duration and the quality of the starting material.
| The ratio tells you | The ratio does not tell you |
|---|---|
| How much raw herb was used per unit of extract | How much of any active compound survived the process |
| Something about the concentration step | Whether the extract is standardised to anything |
| That the manufacturer is at least disclosing a ratio | That 1 mg is pharmacologically equal to 20 mg of herb |
In the United States the ratio is not a regulated figure. USP's general chapter asks for it to be disclosed when active constituents are unknown, which is a voluntary quality convention rather than an FDA requirement.
So why grant it at all?
Because the conclusion survives it. If we had used the extract weights as printed, every one of the sixteen would fall short and the page would be easy to dismiss as unfair. Granting the multiplier in full is the strongest version of the product's own case, and fourteen still cannot get there.
Position by position
| # | Ingredient | Ceiling | × | Best case | Studied at | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maca Root Extract | 15.47 mg | 20 | 309.40 mg | 1.5 to 3.5 g a day | 4.8× short |
| 2 | African Mango Seed Extract | 7.74 mg | 10 | 77.35 mg | 150 mg twice a day, so 300 mg | 3.9× short |
| 3 | Grape Seed Extract | 5.16 mg | 20 | 103.13 mg | 100 to 2,000 mg a day | Reaches it |
| 4 | Guarana Seed Extract | 3.87 mg | 20 | 77.35 mg | 37.5 to 500 mg a day | Reaches it |
| 5 | Eleuthero Root Extract | 3.09 mg | 20 | 61.88 mg | 90 to 180 mg of dry aqueous extract | 1.5× short |
| 6 | Astragalus Root Extract | 2.58 mg | 20 | 51.57 mg | 500 mg a day | 9.7× short |
| 7 | Green Tea Leaf Extract | 2.21 mg | 20 | 44.20 mg | no cognition dose we could verify | No verdict |
| 8 | Gymnema Leaf Extract | 1.93 mg | 20 | 38.68 mg | 400 mg a day | 10× short |
| 9 | Forskohlii Root Extract | 1.72 mg | 20 | 34.38 mg | 500 mg a day of a 10% extract | 15× short |
| 10 | Cayenne Pepper Fruit Extract | 1.55 mg | 20 | 30.94 mg | capsaicin is studied at roughly 2 to 150 mg a day | No verdict |
| 11 | Grapefruit Seed | 1.41 mg | 20 | 28.13 mg | no human dose we could verify | No verdict |
| 12 | Panax Ginseng Root Extract | 1.29 mg | — | 1.29 mg | 200 to 400 mg a day of standardised extract | 155× short |
| 13 | Raspberry Ketones | 1.19 mg | — | 1.19 mg | no human trial at supplement doses exists | No verdict |
| 14 | L-Glutamine | 1.10 mg | — | 1.10 mg | 5 g in a single post-exercise dose | 4,525× short |
| 15 | L-Tyrosine | 1.03 mg | — | 1.03 mg | 100 mg per kilogram, so about 7 g for a 70 kg adult | 6,787× short |
| 16 | L-Arginine | 0.97 mg | — | 0.97 mg | 5 to 30 g a day | 5,171× short |
| 17 | Beta Alanine | 0.91 mg | — | 0.91 mg | 4 to 6 g a day for at least two to four weeks | 4,396× short |
| 18 | Monoammonium Glycyrrhizinate | 0.86 mg | — | 0.86 mg | used as a flavour agent, not at a therapeutic dose | No verdict |
| 19 | GABA | 0.81 mg | — | 0.81 mg | from 2.01 mg in stress studies; 100 to 300 mg for sleep | 2.5× short |
| 20 | L-Tryptophan | 0.77 mg | — | 0.77 mg | 1 g a day or more | 1,293× short |
| 21 | L-Carnitine HCl | 0.74 mg | — | 0.74 mg | 0.25 to 6 g a day, mostly 1 to 4 g | 339× short |
Scroll this table sideways →
The seven amino acids
Seven of the twenty-one are amino acids or close relatives: L-glutamine, L-tyrosine, L-arginine, beta alanine, GABA, L-tryptophan and L-carnitine HCl. None carries an extract multiplier, because there is nothing to extract them from — they are supplied as compounds.
Their ceilings run from 1.105 mg down to 0.737 mg. Their trial doses run from 1 gram to 7. That is the part of this label where the gap is not a matter of interpretation at all.
| Ingredient | Ceiling | Studied at | Short by |
|---|---|---|---|
| L-glutamine | 1.105 mg | 5 g post-exercise | 4,525× |
| L-tyrosine | 1.031 mg | 100 mg/kg, about 7 g | 6,787× |
| L-arginine | 0.967 mg | 5 to 30 g a day | 5,171× |
| Beta alanine | 0.910 mg | 4 to 6 g a day | 4,396× |
| GABA | 0.814 mg | from 2.01 mg | 2.5× |
| L-tryptophan | 0.774 mg | 1 g or more | 1,292× |
| L-carnitine HCl | 0.737 mg | 0.25 to 6 g a day | 339× |
Scroll this table sideways →
GABA is the exception, and only because its lowest studied dose is itself tiny. It is also the ingredient whose systematic review says plainly that there are no data showing it crosses the blood–brain barrier in humans, so reaching a low dose of it is not obviously worth much.
Adding it up from the other end
Take the lowest researched dose of every ingredient that has one, and add them together.
A day’s worth of the lowest studied doses would weigh more than eight and a half times the entire bottle. That is not a formulation choice anyone could make differently; it is a statement about what a one-millilitre serving can carry.
Which is the real finding
The problem here is not that the blend is a little small. It is that the format cannot hold the formula at any plausible dose, and the label advertises twenty-one ingredients anyway.
A shorter list at published amounts would be a better product and a harder one to sell, which is the tension this whole category runs on.
What a fair reading of this looks like
We do not know the split
Nobody outside the company does. Every figure here is a bound, and a bound is not a measurement.
A ceiling, not a content
We granted the multiplier
In full, to every ingredient that claims one, even though the source we cite says that reading overstates it.
The generous version
Formulas are not always additive
A combination can in principle do something its parts do not. No trial of this combination exists, and none could be run without the split.
Possible, untested
What survives all three is the original point: a buyer holding this bottle cannot check whether any ingredient is at a researched dose, and the arithmetic says almost none of them is.
What would end this page
- The split. Twenty-one numbers instead of one. That single change would make this page unnecessary.
- Standardisations. A percentage of a marker compound tells a reader far more than an extract ratio does.
- A certificate of analysis for lot COG-26/GO-1410. Not a reference string — a document, from a laboratory.
- An identity test on the grapefruit seed, for the reason set out on its own page.
None of those is exotic and the first is free.
See what Cognizil costs
If you have read this page and still want to try it, that is a decision made with the arithmetic in front of you, which is the point of publishing it.
Two bottles $158, three $207, six $294. Shipping at checkout.
References
The sources behind the numbers on this page.
- U.S. Government Publishing Office21 CFR 101.36 — Nutrition labeling of dietary supplements — eCFR.gov · source
- U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationDietary Supplement Labeling Guide: Chapter IV, Nutrition Labeling — FDA.gov · source
- Booker, Frommenwiler, Reich et al. — 2022Understanding plant to extract ratios in botanical extracts — Frontiers in Pharmacology · DOI 10.3389/fphar.2022.981978 · source
- Shin, Lee, Yang, Lim & Ernst — 2010Maca (L. meyenii) for improving sexual function: a systematic review — BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine · PMID 20691074 · source
- Ngondi, Etoundi, Nyangono et al. — 2009IGOB131, a novel seed extract of the West African plant Irvingia gabonensis, significantly reduces body weight and improves metabolic parameters in overweight humans — Lipids in Health and Disease · PMID 19254366 · source
- Zhang, Liu, Li et al. — 2016The impact of grape seed extract treatment on blood pressure changes: a meta-analysis of 16 randomized controlled trials — Medicine (Baltimore) · PMID 27537554 · source
- Congretel, Bonnet, Gaudel et al. — 2023Effect of Guarana (Paullinia cupana) on Cognitive Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis — Nutrients · PMID 36678305 · source
- Schaffler, Wolf & Burkart — 2013No benefit adding Eleutherococcus senticosus to stress management training in stress-related fatigue/weakness, impaired work or concentration — Pharmacopsychiatry · PMID 23740477 · source
- Pop, Cherecheș, Buzoianu et al. — 2021Standardized astragalus extract for attenuation of the immunosuppression induced by strenuous physical exercise: randomized controlled trial — Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · PMID 34271953 · source
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney DiseasesGymnema, in LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury — NCBI Bookshelf · NBK610217 · source
- Henderson, Magu, Rasmussen et al. — 2005Effects of Coleus forskohlii supplementation on body composition and hematological profiles in mildly overweight women — Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · PMID 18500958 · source
- Zeng, Li, Wang et al. — 2024Effects of Ginseng on Cognitive Function: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis — Phytotherapy Research · PMID 39474788 · source
- Operational Supplement Safety, Consortium for Health and Military PerformanceRaspberry ketone dietary supplements for weight loss — opss.org · source
- Gleeson — 2008Dosing and efficacy of glutamine supplementation in human exercise and sport training — Journal of Nutrition · PMID 18806122 · source
- Deijen & Orlebeke — 1994Effect of tyrosine on cognitive function and blood pressure under stress — Brain Research Bulletin · PMID 8293316 · source
- McNeal, Meininger, Wilborn et al. — 2018Safety of dietary supplementation with arginine in adult humans — Amino Acids · PMID 29858688 · source
- Trexler, Smith-Ryan, Stout et al. — 2015International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: Beta-Alanine — Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · PMID 26175657 · source
- Hepsomali, Groeger, Nishihira & Scholey — 2020Effects of oral gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) administration on stress and sleep in humans: a systematic review — Frontiers in Neuroscience · DOI 10.3389/fnins.2020.00923 · source
- Sutanto, Loh, Kim & Kim — 2021The impact of tryptophan supplementation on sleep quality: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression — Nutrition Reviews · PMID 33942088 · source
- NIH Office of Dietary SupplementsCarnitine — Health Professional Fact Sheet — ods.od.nih.gov · source