Comment · Wed, July 20, 2016 · Ceretropic & Nootropics Depot
New Products at Nootropics Depot
Original post in this thread
zifzif · 25 points
Whenever I get the Nootropics Depot newsletter I get all giddy, and my wallet runs in fear.
First off is a new Bacopa extract called Synapsa. Does anybody here have experience with both Synapsa AND Bacognize? I like Bacopa, but ultimately discontinued after 5 months due to lethargy and brain fog. Hoping someone can corroborate what I've read: that Synapsa is a bit more stimulating.
Second question is directed primarily at u/MisterYouAreSoDumb, but I think others will wonder the same. Cordyceps 10:1 extract from Nammex was also released today, with 20% beta glucans and 0.3% cordycepin by HPLC. Upon checking the original Cordyceps page, I see that it, too has 0.3% cordycepin, but 30% beta glucans. It would appear that the original is more potent-- is this true?
All input on both questions welcome.
What they were answering
Direct reply to the original post — see the thread post above.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · Ceretropic & Nootropics Depot
but I think others will wonder the same. Cordyceps 10:1 extract from Nammex was also released today, with 20% beta glucans and 0.3% cordycepin by HPLC. Upon checking the original Cordyceps page, I see that it, too has 0.3% cordycepin, but 30% beta glucans. It would appear that the original is more potent-- is this true?
Yes, it was a discussion I had with the owner of Nammex, too. There are other compounds in there other than beta glucans and cordycepin. The 1:1 extract has more beta glucans. That is going to be the same for all of the mushrooms, as you don't lose any of the compounds in the 1:1. So the beta glucan count is going to be high. When you start doing solvent extractions, you concentrate things that are soluble in those solvents, but lose some that are not. So when you start doing ethanol extractions, you are going to lose some of the beta glucan content. That's because beta glucans are not as soluble in ethanol as water. However, you concentrate more of the compounds that are alcohol soluble. That's where I would expect more cordycepin, even though it is coming up the same. So I am working with Nammex to try and improve the analytical methods, to figure out why the numbers do not make sense.
The key takeaway from it is the 10:1 is from the same Cordyceps militaris used in the standard extract, but 10 grams of it is used to make every 1 gram of the concentrated extract, and the extraction process is a dual water/ethanol extraction. I am working to figure out why the analytical methods Nammex used are showing the same cordycepin percentage as the 1:1, even though cordycepin is soluble in ethanol. I have a feeling the .3% number is low, and we need to fix the methods.
Also, new data has come out showing that for Reishi and Poria, the methods used to test the beta glucan amounts are more accurate if you use H2SO4 instead of HCL. So those methods are being re-run, and new beta glucan numbers will be up soon. It's likely there is actually closer to 50% beta glucans in the Reishi powder. So that's nice.