A1
Betaine anhydrous
- Product declaration
- Betaine Anhydrous: 2500 mg
- Selected studied range
- 2000 to 5000 mg
- Protocol and duration
- per day, studied for up to 15 days
- Studied context
- NIH ODS describes betaine as studied for strength- and power-based performance in bodybuilders and cyclists, with "potential but modest" improvements from a limited set of small, sometimes conflicting studies. A 2024/2025 systematic review focused specifically on endurance performance (VO2max, time-to-exhaustion, time-to-completion, power output).
- Limitations
- The endurance systematic review explicitly states "limited and inconclusive evidence regarding the definitive ergogenic effect of betaine supplementation on endurance exercise performance". Only 2 of 5 reviewed studies showed a significant improvement, and the authors call for "additional, more rigorous research."
Selected evidence: NIH ODS, Dietary Supplements for Exercise and Athletic Performance · Open source
A2
L-tyrosine
- Product declaration
- L-Tyrosine: 1000 mg
- Selected studied range
- 2000 to 2000 mg
- Protocol and duration
- per day for five days, in the cadet study
- Studied context
- Studied as the dietary precursor to norepinephrine for mitigating cognitive performance decrements under acute stress. A 2015 Military Medicine evidence review (rapid evidence assessment, 14 trials: 10 RCTs + 4 controlled clinical trials) issued a "weak recommendation" in favor of tyrosine for cognitive stress specifically, stating "all studies showed a positive effect" on that outcome. A widely cited primary study (Deijen et al. 1999, Brain Research Bulletin) gave cadets 2 g tyrosine daily for five days during a combat training course and found better memory and tracking-task performance, plus lower systolic blood pressure, versus a carbohydrate control.
- Limitations
- The 2015 Military Medicine review states explicitly that "no recommendation could be made" for tyrosine's effect on physical performance under stressful physical conditions, and concludes "available evidence is insufficient to make confident recommendations on the effectiveness of tyrosine for mitigating stress effects on physical/cognitive performance" overall, despite the positive signal on cognition. A separate heat-stress study found tyrosine ingestion did not influence cognitive function or physical performance during exercise heat stress despite raised serum tyrosine. NIH ODS's exercise/athletic-performance fact sheet does not cover tyrosine at all.
Selected evidence: Deijen et al., Brain Research Bulletin, 1999
A1
Theobromine
- Product declaration
- Theobromine: 100 mg
- Selected studied range
- No dose range selected
- Protocol and duration
- Not recorded in the selected comparison
- Studied context
- EFSA's Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing Aids (CEF), in its 2017 opinion on xanthine alkaloids from the flavoring priority list, treats theobromine as a major metabolite of caffeine. Roughly 11% of an ingested caffeine dose converts systemically to theobromine. And states that because "only limited toxicity data in humans are available" for theobromine directly, its safety assessment leans on the extensive caffeine safety literature (EFSA's 2015 caffeine opinion) rather than an independent human-efficacy dataset for theobromine as a standalone ergogenic ingredient.
- Limitations
- No sports-performance-specific position stand or ISSN evaluation of theobromine as a standalone ergogenic ingredient was located in this research pass. EFSA's own framing acknowledges limited independent human toxicity data on theobromine itself.
Selected evidence: EFSA Flavouring Group Evaluation 49 Revision 1, 2017 · Open source
