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Proprietary Blend: What One Line on a Label Hides
A proprietary blend is a group of ingredients listed under one total weight, with no amount for each. Synaptril has a 575 mg proprietary blend of six ingredients. Only the magnesium is split out at 80 mg. The rest can be bracketed by label order, but the true amounts stay unknown.
Written by the Synaptril label deskUpdated · 4 min read
The term01
What is a proprietary blend?
A proprietary blend is a mix of ingredients that a company lists together under a single weight. The weight of each ingredient inside is not shown.
The FDA rules for labels allow this, as long as the ingredients are listed in order by weight, heaviest first (21 CFR 101.36, supplement labeling). So a reader gets a ranking and a total, but not the numbers.
It is common and not illegal. It is simply less open than a label that prints every amount, and it asks you to trust the seller.
The blend sits under the Supplement Facts heading, usually with a dagger that points to a note saying no daily value is set. Learn to spot that dagger, and you can spot a blend on any bottle in seconds.
What is hidden02
What does a proprietary blend hide?
It hides the dose of each ingredient. Without the dose, you cannot compare a capsule with the amounts used in studies.
It also hides how top-heavy the mix is. A blend can be mostly one cheap ingredient with tiny traces of the rest, and the label would look the same.
A buyer who sees only the order has little to go on. Two capsules could share an identical ingredient list and differ many times over in dose.
That is the heart of the Synaptril question. Magnesium glycinate is first, and by formula weight it is only about 14% magnesium, so 80 mg of magnesium needs about 400 to 570 mg of the compound. That leaves about 5 to 175 mg for the other five lines combined. This is our estimate, not a lab number.
- 1Magnesium glycinate80 mg Mg printed
- 2Alpha-lipoic acidnot printed
- 3Butcher's broomnot printed
- 4L-carnitinenot printed
- 5Turmeric (95% curcuminoids)not printed
- 6Coenzyme Q10not printed
Step 1. The label prints 80 mg of magnesium "as magnesium glycinate from proprietary blend".
Step 2. By formula weight, magnesium glycinate is about 14% magnesium; buffered grades run up to about 20%. So 80 mg of magnesium needs about 400-570 mg of the compound.
Step 3. 575 mg minus that leaves about 5-175 mg for alpha-lipoic acid, butcher's broom, L-carnitine, turmeric and CoQ10 together.
Our estimate from the label, not a lab test. A blend has to list its total and its order, not single amounts (21 CFR 101.36, supplement labeling). Magnesium figures from NIH (NIH ODS, Magnesium).
Sizing it up03
How can you estimate what a blend holds?
You can estimate a blend by using label order and the one number that is printed. Each line weighs at most the blend total divided by its place in the list.
For a 575 mg blend, the second line is at most 288 mg, the third 192 mg, the fourth 144 mg, the fifth 115 mg and the sixth 96 mg. The magnesium glycinate then takes most of the weight, which tightens each ceiling.
| Place | Ingredient | Ceiling (mg) | Estimate (mg) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Alpha-lipoic acid | 288 | under 175 |
| 3 | Butcher's broom extract | 192 | under 88 |
| 4 | L-carnitine | 144 | under 58 |
| 5 | Turmeric extract | 115 | under 44 |
| 6 | Coenzyme Q10 | 96 | under 35 |
The ceilings are the most each line could weigh, not what it does weigh. See the Synaptril supplement facts page for the full panel.
Synaptril: from $49 a bottle30 capsules · 2, 3 or 6 bottles · free shipping on 3 or 6 · 60-day money-back guarantee
See packsAgainst studies04
Do the estimated amounts match studied doses?
Mostly no. Studied doses for these ingredients are far above the estimates.
Alpha-lipoic acid studies used 600 mg a day (Linus Pauling Institute, Lipoic Acid). Memory studies of carnitine used 1.5 to 3 g a day of the acetyl form (NIH ODS, Carnitine). The 2018 curcumin pilot used 90 mg twice a day (Small et al. 2018, curcumin and memory). Typical CoQ10 supplements run 30 to 100 mg (Linus Pauling Institute, Coenzyme Q10).
Those studies often used a different form from the label's, as with acetyl-L-carnitine and Theracurmin, so the comparison is loose at best. A blend can be a fine product and still fall short of these doses. The label simply does not let you check, which is the honest answer to what a blend hides.
What to do05
What should you ask a blend seller?
Ask for the amount of each ingredient, the maker and an independent lab report. A seller who has them can send them.
The order desk can be reached at +1 (323) 348-1373. No lab report is published today, and the lot references on the site are not lab proof. The 60-day guarantee lets you decide after trying the capsules.
You can also write to [email protected] with the same questions. If the answers are vague or never arrive, that tells you something too.
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FAQ06
Proprietary blend questions
Is a proprietary blend a sign of a bad product?
Not by itself. It means less detail on the label. A blend with a published lab report and a named maker is easier to trust than one with neither.
Can I tell the true amounts from a lab?
Only a lab test of the capsules could. No lab report is published for Synaptril, so any figure you see online, other than the 80 mg of magnesium, is a guess.
Why do companies use blends?
Some say it protects a formula. Others find it easier than printing six amounts. Whatever the reason, the reader gets less to check.
Does the Daily Value cover a proprietary blend?
No. A blend has no percent Daily Value, and the Synaptril label shows a dagger instead. Only the magnesium line carries a percentage, 19%.
Who wrote this07
Written and reviewed by
Pages built from the label, the sales page and linked NIH, FDA, CDC, FTC and peer-reviewed sources.
Last updated . Read our editorial standards and how we check reviews. This website is run by an American Synaptril authorized shop, not by the manufacturer or the distributor. We earn money when you buy through our order links.
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American Synaptril authorized shop
Ready to try Synaptril?
Start with a medicine check, then choose your pack. Three or six bottles cost less per bottle and ship free, and each pack comes with the 60-day money-back guarantee.
- Secure checkout
- 60-day money-back guarantee
- Ships from the U.S.