Nootropic label calculator
Decode a supplement label. See how much of the measured compound each serving holds, what an extract ratio means, and add up the same compounds across your stack.
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Our own label, decoded
Each daily serving (2 capsules) of Ashwagandha + Lion's Mane gives 6 mg of withanolides from 120 mg of KSM-66 root extract, and 150 mg of polysaccharides from 500 mg of lion's mane fruiting body extract.
See Ashwagandha + Lion's ManeWhat a standardised extract means
A standardised extract A standardised extract is made to contain a set amount of one or more marker compounds, such as 5% withanolides in ashwagandha or 3% rosavins in rhodiola. It keeps batches consistent and makes it easier to match a product with the extracts used in studies. is tested for a marker compound, and the label gives that compound's share of the extract's weight. 600 mg of ashwagandha extract at 5% Withanolides Withanolides are natural compounds found in ashwagandha, mostly in the root and leaf. Extracts are often standardised to a set percentage of withanolides, such as 5%, so one batch matches the next. The percentage describes the extract, not how well it works. holds 30 mg of withanolides. The % keeps one batch like the next. It describes the extract, not how much of it to take.
Each plant has its own markers, and labels sometimes count the same marker in different ways, so a % only compares like with like.
What an extract ratio means
An extract ratio An extract ratio such as 10:1 means about 10 kg of plant went into 1 kg of extract. It describes how concentrated the extract is, but not which compounds it holds or how much of them, so a standardised percentage often tells you more. such as 10:1 means about 10 mg of dried plant went into each 1 mg of extract, so 500 mg of a 10:1 extract was made from about 5 g of plant. A ratio shows how concentrated an extract is, but not which compounds it holds or how much of them. A 1:1 ratio is no more concentrated than the dried plant.
Under EU rules for herbal medicines, the ratio describes the extract alone, and the label says how much of the product is added carrier. Supplement labels don't have to do this, so a supplement's ratio may or may not allow for carriers.
What each label measures
What each extract is usually measured by, the figures most common on labels, and named extracts with their stated standard.
| Ingredient | Measured as | Most common on US labels | Named extracts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashwagandha Withania somnifera | Withanolides | 5%, 1.5%, 2.5%, 10%, 8% | KSM-66 (5% withanolides) Sensoril (10% withanolide glycosides) Shoden (35% withanolide glycosides) |
| Withanolide glycosides | 10%, 35%, 8% | ||
| Bacopa Bacopa monnieri | Bacosides | 20%, 50%, 55%, 45% | – |
| Black pepper extract Piper nigrum | Piperine | 95%, 98% | BioPerine (95% piperine) |
| Chamomile Matricaria recutita | Apigenin | 1.2%, 1% | – |
| Ginkgo Ginkgo biloba | Flavone glycosides | 24% | EGb 761 (24% flavone glycosides, 6% terpene lactones) |
| Terpene lactones | 6% | ||
| Guarana Paullinia cupana | Caffeine | 22%, 36% | – |
| Holy basil (tulsi) Ocimum tenuiflorum | Ursolic acid | 2%, 2.5% | – |
| Lemon balm Melissa officinalis | Rosmarinic acid | 5%, 3%, 7% | Cyracos (7% rosmarinic acid) |
| Maca Lepidium meyenii | Macamides | 0.6%, 0.5% | – |
| Panax ginseng Panax ginseng | Ginsenosides | 5%, 4%, 80%, 7%, 10% | G115 (4% ginsenosides) |
| Pine bark Pinus pinaster | Procyanidins | 95%, 75%, 90%, 65% | – |
| Rhodiola Rhodiola rosea | Rosavins | 3%, 5%, 1% | 3% rosavins, 1% salidroside |
| Salidroside | 1%, 3%, 2% | ||
| Turmeric Curcuma longa | Curcuminoids | 95%, 20%, 22% | C3 Complex (95% curcuminoids) |
| Valerian Valeriana officinalis | Valerenic acids | 0.8%, 1%, 0.3% | – |
| Lion's mane Hericium erinaceus | Beta-glucans | 25%, 20%, 45%, 30% | – |
| Polysaccharides | 30%, 55%, 10% |
Most common figures from on-market US labels in the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database, October 2026, as the UK has no public label database. Named extract figures from their makers, labels or the European Medicines Agency.
How much of each form is the compound
Many compounds are sold joined to another molecule, which adds weight. These shares are our own sums from each molecule's weight in PubChem.
| Form | Share of its weight |
|---|---|
| Acetyl-L-carnitine | 79% L-carnitine |
| Acetyl-L-carnitine HCl | 67% L-carnitine |
| L-carnitine L-tartrate | 68% L-carnitine |
| Alpha-GPC | 40% choline |
| Alpha-lipoic acid (R and S mix) | 50% R-lipoic acid |
| Citicoline | 21% choline |
| Citicoline sodium | 20% choline |
| N-acetyl L-tyrosine (NALT) | 81% L-tyrosine |
By weight only. How much the body takes up from each form is a separate question.
What to check on any label
- The part used. A clear label names it, such as ashwagandha root or lion's mane fruiting body.
- A % for every extract. Without one, an amount or a ratio can't tell you how much of the marker you get.
- The test used. The same bacopa extract can read about 50% bacosides by a broad UV test and less by the narrower HPLC test.
- The right plant. Siberian ginseng is a different plant from Panax ginseng, and some ginkgo and rhodiola products have tested as mislabelled or mixed with cheaper compounds.
- Salts and powders. Acetyl-L-carnitine HCl, a 50% alpha-GPC powder and a 20% phosphatidylserine powder all hold less of the compound than the mg on the front.
- Polysaccharides or beta-glucans. In mushrooms a polysaccharide figure can include starch, so a beta-glucan Beta-glucans are a type of polysaccharide found in the cell walls of mushrooms and yeast, and in oats and barley. In mushroom supplements they're the main compounds checked for quality, and a beta-glucan figure is a better guide than total polysaccharides. figure tells you more.
- The batch's tested figures. A certificate of analysis A certificate of analysis is a lab report for one batch of an ingredient or product. It typically confirms what's in it, how much of the marker compounds, and that heavy metals and microbes are under set limits. Brands get them from suppliers or independent labs. shows what each batch was tested for and the results.
Sources
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Dietary Supplement Label Database (dsld.od.nih.gov), on-market labels, accessed 24 October 2026.
- European Medicines Agency (2010). Guideline on declaration of herbal substances and herbal preparations in herbal medicinal products. EMA/HMPC/CHMP/CVMP/287539/2005 Rev.1.
- European Medicines Agency, HMPC. EU herbal monographs and assessment reports on ginkgo leaf (2014, 2015), lemon balm leaf (2013), Eleutherococcus root (2014), chamomile flower (2015), valerian root (2016), turmeric (2018), rhodiola root (2024) and Panax ginseng root (2024).
- PubChem, US National Library of Medicine. Molecular weights of L-tyrosine, N-acetyl-L-tyrosine, L-carnitine, acetyl-L-carnitine and its HCl salt, L-carnitine L-tartrate, citicoline, choline and alpha-GPC, accessed 24 October 2026.
- Ixoreal Biomed. KSM-66 Ashwagandha, listing on NXT Ingredients, accessed 24 October 2026.
- Sabinsa. BioPerine, accessed 24 October 2026.
- Nutraceuticals World (September 2019). Shoden ashwagandha extract.
- Booker A et al. (2016). The authenticity and quality of Rhodiola rosea products. Phytomedicine 23(7):754-62.
- Ma YC et al. (2016). An effective identification and quantification method for Ginkgo biloba flavonol glycosides with targeted evaluation of adulterated products. Phytomedicine 23(4):377-87.
- Harnly JM et al. (2012). Detection of adulterated Ginkgo biloba supplements using chromatographic and spectral fingerprints. J AOAC Int 95(6):1579-87.
- Dowell A et al. (2015). Validation of quantitative HPLC method for bacosides in KeenMind. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2015:696172.
- McCleary BV, Draga A (2016). Measurement of β-glucan in mushrooms and mycelial products. J AOAC Int 99(2):364-73.
- Windsor C et al. (2025). Comparative study of chaga (Inonotus obliquus) dietary supplements using complementary analytical techniques. Int J Mol Sci 26(7):2970.
- Uchida R et al. (2015). Enantioselective pharmacokinetics of α-lipoic acid in rats. Int J Mol Sci 16(9):22781-94.
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Short answers, from published standards and label data.
What does 10:1 extract mean?
It means about 10 mg of dried plant went into each 1 mg of extract, so 500 mg of a 10:1 extract was made from about 5 g of plant, if the whole amount is extract. A ratio shows how concentrated an extract is, not which compounds it holds or how much of them, so a standardised % usually tells you more.
What does standardised to 5% withanolides mean?
The ashwagandha extract has been tested to hold 5% withanolides by weight, so every 100 mg holds 5 mg and 600 mg holds 30 mg. KSM-66 is standardised to 5% withanolides. Some other extracts count withanolide glycosides instead, so their percentages aren't directly comparable.
What is a standardised extract?
It's a plant extract tested for a set share of a marker compound, such as 24% flavone glycosides in ginkgo or 3% rosavins in rhodiola. The figure keeps one batch like the next and makes products easier to compare. It describes the extract, not how much of it to take.
What's the difference between beta-glucans and polysaccharides in lion's mane?
Polysaccharides are any long chains of sugars, which can include starch. Beta-glucans are the polysaccharides in a mushroom's cell walls. Mycelium grown on grain can carry a lot of starch, while the fruiting body holds very little, so a beta-glucan figure measured without starch tells you more than a polysaccharide figure.
What does 3% rosavins and 1% salidroside mean?
It's the usual standard for Rhodiola rosea extracts. Each 100 mg holds 3 mg of rosavins and 1 mg of salidroside. Rosavins mark out Rhodiola rosea, while salidroside is also found in other rhodiola species, so a salidroside figure on its own doesn't confirm which plant was used.
How much tyrosine is in N-acetyl L-tyrosine?
About 81% of the weight of N-acetyl L-tyrosine (NALT) is tyrosine, from the two molecules' weights, so 350 mg of NALT holds about 284 mg of tyrosine. That's by weight only. It doesn't say how much your body takes up.
Is acetyl-L-carnitine the same as L-carnitine?
No. Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR) is L-carnitine with an acetyl group added. About 79% of its weight is L-carnitine, or 67% in the HCl salt many labels use, so 500 mg of acetyl-L-carnitine HCl holds about 335 mg of L-carnitine.
What does alpha-GPC 50% mean?
The powder is half alpha-GPC, so 600 mg of a 50% powder holds 300 mg of alpha-GPC. About 40% of alpha-GPC's weight is choline, so that's about 120 mg of choline.