Magnesium is essential to whole body health being critically involved in over 300 functions! It is especially important for brain health. Magnesium has been shown to enhance cognitive abilities. Magnesium contributes to synaptic plasticity, allowing brain cells to recover from stress or trauma more easily, and form new synaptic connections. Magnesium is also a NMDA glutamate antagonist. Drugs with the same mechanism of action have shown dramatic promise for treating depression. Because of conventional farming methods and overuse of land, many foods that used to be rich in magnesium are now lacking. Many people have magnesium deficiencies as a result. Supplementing with magnesium contributes to overall health and is a fundamental mineral for the nervous system.

We use high quality Magnesium Citrate because it is more absorbable and bioavailable to the body.

1. Magnesium sulfate protects against the bioenergetic consequences of chronic glutamate receptor stimulation.
2. Changes in brain protein expression are linked to magnesium restriction-induced depression-like behavior.
3. Rapid recovery from major depression using magnesium treatment.
4. Antidepressant-like activity of magnesium in the chronic mild stress model in rats: alterations in the NMDA receptor subunits.
5. Zinc, magnesium and NMDA receptor alterations in the hippocampus of suicide victims.
6. Magnesium in depression.
7. New paradigms for treatment-resistant depression.
8. Platelet serotonin and magnesium concentrations in suicidal and non-suicidal depressed patients.

Mucuna pruriens, also called the velvet bean, is a legume native to Africa and Asia. It contains a rich amount of an amino acid called L-DOPA which is converted in the body to dopamine and later norepinephrine. It also contains trace amounts of serotonin, 5-HTP and nicotine, but at very low levels. Mucuna pruriens has been scientifically studied and found to improve a variety of conditions such as infertility, depression, parkinsons disease, ALS, snake bites and male virility. It shows antioxidant and neuroprotective properties as well as an ability to chelate heavy metals out of the body.

1. 1. Antiparkinson drug–Mucuna pruriens shows antioxidant and metal chelating activity.
   2. Neuroprotective effects of the antiparkinson drug Mucuna pruriens.
   3. Effect of antiparkinson drug HP-200 (Mucuna pruriens) on the central monoaminergic neurotransmitters.
   4. The effect of Momordica charantia and Mucuna pruriens in experimental diabetes and their effect on key metabolic enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism.
   5. The effect of Momordica charantia and Mucuna pruriens in experimental diabetes and their effect on key metabolic enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism.

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a spice that’s been used in Ayurvedic medicine and food for thousands of years in Asian countries. It contains a group of polyphenolic compounds called curcuminoids. The most researched of these compounds is curcumin. Turmeric has been found to exhibit anti-cancerous, antifungal, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective and antioxidant properties. We chose turmeric as one of our ingredients because of it’s affect on inflammatory response, antioxidant production in the body, and ability to promote neurogenesis. Stress, sleep deprivation, and toxins can cause oxidative stress and tissue damage to our body and brains. Turmeric promotes a healthy inflammatory response and helps the body recover to optimal function. Turmeric increases levels of antioxidant vitamins in the body such as vitamin C and E, and is a strong stimulator of the Nrf2 pathway that promotes endogenous antioxidant production, combating oxidative damage to cells and DNA Turmeric also promotes a protein called BDNF, which regulates brain cell and dendrite growth. Turmeric has been clinically shown to increase BDNF in hippocampal regions of the brain.

1. Curcumin exhibits anti-pre-cancer activity by increasing levels of vitamins C and E, and preventing lipid peroxidation and DNA damage.
2. Neuroprotective and cognitive enhancing effects of a multi-targeted food intervention in an animal model of neurodegeneration and depression
3. Curcuma longa extract associated with white pepper lessens high fat diet-induced inflammation in subcutaneous adipose tissue.
4. Antidepressant-like effects of curcumin in chronic mild stress of rats: involvement of its anti-inflammatory action.
5. Effects of curcumin on chronic, unpredictable, mild, stress-induced depressive-like behaviour and structural plasticity in the lateral amygdala of rats.
6. Neuroprotective and antioxidant effects of curcumin in a ketamine-induced model of mania in rats.
7. Antidepressant-like effects of curcumin in WKY rat model of depression is associated with an increase in hippocampal BDNF.
8. Multiple antidepressant potential modes of action of curcumin: a review of its anti-inflammatory, monoaminergic, antioxidant, immune-modulating and neuroprotective effects.

The fruit of the blueberry plant (Vaccinium) contains a number of powerful antioxidants and phytochemicals which have many health benefits. Blueberries contain anthocyanins which evidence has shows reduces inflammation, may help fight cancer, reverse aging, and improve memory and depression symptoms. Blueberry compounds, like turmeric, also contribute to neurotrophic cell proliferation by activating BDNF and promoting neurogensis in the hippocampal region of the brain. They also provide protection against neurotoxicity and DNA damage. Also like Turmeric, blueberry compounds stimulate the bodies antioxidant production by interacting with regulatory genes helping your body combat oxidative stress. Blueberry also interacts with inflammation regulating genes and has been clinically shown to prevent cognitive decline and memory loss.

1. Inhibitory effects of wild blueberry anthocyanins and other flavonoids on biomarkers of acute and chronic inflammation in vitro.
2. Nutraceutical Intervention Improves Older Adults’ Cognitive Functioning.
3. Blueberry (Vaccinium virgatum) leaf extracts protect against Aβ-induced cytotoxicity and cognitive impairment.
4. Chemical analysis and effect of blueberry and lingonberry fruits and leaves against glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity.
5. Dietary levels of pure flavonoids improve spatial memory performance and increase hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor.
6. A blueberry-enriched diet attenuates nephropathy in a rat model of hypertension via reduction in oxidative stress.
7. Synaptic failure and adenosine triphosphate imbalance induced by amyloid-β aggregates are prevented by blueberry-enriched polyphenols extract.
8. Behavioral and genoprotective effects of Vaccinium berries intake in mice.
9. Age-related toxicity of amyloid-beta associated with increased pERK and pCREB in primary hippocampal neurons: reversal by blueberry extract.

Passionflower (Passiflora incarnate) has been used traditionally to treat anxiety and insomnia .Studies show that Passiflora extracts not only contain a high amount of GABA, but are also able to induce direct GABA currents via activation of GABA receptors in the hippocampus. GABA has a calming effect on the nervous system and is the category of receptors that many anti-anxiety medications target. Most species of passion flower also contain beta-carboline harmala alkaloids as well as. Some of these have MAOI activity, mildly increasing levels of certain neurotransmitters. Passion flower extracts also show potential in aiding in the treatment of addictive drug withdrawals (opiates, nicotine etc.) Studies of people with generalized anxiety disorder show that passionflower is as effective as the drug oxazepam (Serax) for treating symptoms.

1. 1. Passionflower in the treatment of generalized anxiety: a pilot double-blind randomized controlled trial with oxazepam.
   2. Passiflora incarnata L. (Passionflower) extracts elicit GABA currents in hippocampal neurons in vitro, and show anxiogenic and anticonvulsant effects in vivo, varying with extraction method
   3. Passion flower extract antagonizes the expression of nicotine locomotor sensitization in rats.
   4. Melissa officinalis and Passiflora caerulea infusion as physiological stress decreaser
   5. Nutritional and herbal supplements for anxiety and anxiety-related disorders: systematic review

Zinc is a crucial mineral for overall health, but it is especially important for brain and mood health. Zinc plays a key role in hundreds of enzymatic reactions in the body including the production of neurotransmitters and hormones. It is required in the synthesis of dopamine, as well as testosterone and important to regulating estrogen and progesterone levels in woman. Zinc has also been identified as helping control insulin sensitivity. It helps maintain homeostasis in brain cells and can also acts as an antioxidant, making it neuroprotective. Zinc has been found to protect against inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers. Many people with depression, anxiety, ADHD or other brain disorders have a zinc deficiency. Zinc has been found to actually reduce the amount of pro-inflammatory cytokines and markers  such as C-reactive protein that are circulating in the body. It also acts as a chelator for heavy metals and helps balance healthy metal levels in the body. Stress often depletes Zinc levels in the body.

We use zinc in the form of Zinc Picolinate for it’s high bioavailability and easiness for the body to assimilate.

1. 1. Dietary zinc and iron intake and risk of depression: A meta-analysis.
   2. Association of Mood Disorders with Serum Zinc Concentrations in Adolescent Female Students.
   3. Distinctive hippocampal zinc distribution patterns following stress exposure in an animal model of PTSD.
   4. Zinc Deficiency Is associated With Depressive Symptoms-Results From the Berlin Aging Study II
   5. The serum zinc concentration as a potential biological marker in patients with major depressive disorder.