When you buy a supplement, how do you know the ingredient claim on the label is actually accurate?
That's been a longstanding challenge in the Lion's Mane category, a mushroom that's been touted and commonly sold as a brain-health supplement. But one of the mushroom's most studied (and consequently very important) compounds, erinacine A, was difficult for labs to verify because reliable testing standards weren't really available.
And as far as supplements go, if you can't measure against standards, trusting and backing a claim is all but a shot in the dark.
So Nootropics Depot spent more than a decade working on that exact problem. Rather than focusing solely on developing another Lion's Mane supplement, the company invested in the tools needed to measure the active compounds more accurately. That effort ultimately helped launch Erinamax, their
own Lion's Mane product backed by lot-specific testing and greater transparency for consumers. So if you've been thinking about building upon your current wellness routine, here's what you need to know.
Erinamax Capsules, Liquid Culture Lion's Mane Mycelium
Nootropics Depot has spent more than a decade developing Erinamax, a Lion's Mane supplement with verifiable active compounds and transparency for consumers.
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What Is Lion's Mane? Benefits, uses and key compounds explained
Lion's Mane is a mushroom that is commonly sold as a health and wellness supplement to support cognitive and brain health. The mushroom contains several particular compounds that are being studied for their potential role in supporting brain health—Erinacine A is found in the mycelium (the root-like part of the mushroom), while hericenones and hericenes are found in the part of the mushroom that most people recognize above the ground.
Nootropics Depot's own cell culture lab is studying how erinacines, hericenones and hericenes affect activity in human brain cells.
And according to Nootropics Depot, the company is also collaborating on Lion's Mane-related brain cancer research.
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Can Lion's Mane supplement labels be verified? What shoppers should know
One of the biggest challenges in the Lion's Mane category is that erinacine A compound is only found in the mushroom's mycelium. While many products are marketed as mycelium-based, some contain large amounts of grain substrate and relatively little mycelium, making it difficult to determine how much of the active compound is truly present.
Unfortunately, laboratories have lacked a commercially available reference standard for erinacine A, so it was difficult to independently confirm whether a Lion's Mane product contained the amount that was listed on the label.
What makes Erinamax different from other Lion's Mane supplements?
Because Nootropics Depot recognized a wider industry measurement problem, solving that problem became the foundation of its research efforts. Rather than starting with another Lion's Mane product, the company spent years working to isolate, purify and accurately measure erinacine A so it could be reliably tested.
And the brand's work ultimately helped launch Erinamax, a Lion's Mane mycelium supplement standardized to 5 milligrams of erinacine A per serving. The product is made from liquid-fermented Lion's Mane mycelium and contains no grain substrate.
Learn more about Nootropics' Lion's Mane
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: This supplement brand built its own lab to create a better Lion's Mane
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