Abstract
Theacrine is a purine alkaloid found primarily in the leaves of the Camellia Kucha plant and is now included within dietary supplements. To compare the effects of a theacrine-containing dietary supplement with caffeine and placebo on energy and mood, as well as objective measures of cognitive performance, heart rate, and blood pressure, 10 healthy men (20.8 ± 0.7 years) and 10 healthy women (22.2 ± 1.1 years) ingested the dietary supplement TheaTrim (Purus Labs; containing a branded form of theacrine (Teacrine™) and caffeine (150 mg)), caffeine only (150 mg), or a placebo on three different days, separated by approximately one week. Before, and for up to 4 h following, ingestion of the assigned condition, subjects completed a subjective assessment of energy and mood, as well as tests of cognitive performance (trail making test (TMT), digit symbol substitution test (DSST)), and reaction time. Heart rate and blood pressure were measured. No condition or interaction effects were noted for TMT, DSST, or reaction time, despite a trend for improvement in selected variables with both TheaTrim and caffeine treatment. Condition effects or trends were noted for subjective feelings, with values for attentive, alert, focused, and energetic higher for TheaTrim than for placebo and caffeine, while values for lethargic and groggy were lower for TheaTrim than for placebo and caffeine. Heart rate and blood pressure were largely unaffected by treatment. These data indicate that TheaTrim treatment does not result in a statistically significant improvement in cognitive performance but may favorably impact multiple subjective feelings related to energy and mood.
Highlights
The use of dietary supplements to increase energy and focus is commonplace, as evidenced by the widespread sale and consumption of energy drinks and energy shots, as well as capsule-based dietary supplements
A novel plant-based ingredient has made its way into the dietary supplement market: a purine alkaloid found primarily in the leaves of the Camellia Kucha plant known as theacrine [2]
Data from the present investigation indicate that within a controlled laboratory setting: (1) TheaTrim or caffeine do not improve cognitive performance or reaction time in a statistically significant manner; (2) TheaTrim improves a variety of subjective feelings related to energy and mood; and (3) TheaTrim or caffeine do not elevate heart rate or blood pressure in a statistically significant manner
Summary
The use of dietary supplements to increase energy and focus is commonplace, as evidenced by the widespread sale and consumption of energy drinks and energy shots, as well as capsule-based dietary supplements. The same study included data for a group of six subjects who were dosed 100, 200, or 400 mg of theacrine over a seven-day period where they noted moderate to large effect sizes for energy, fatigue, concentration, anxiety, motivation to exercise, and libido with the 200 mg dose [8]. In the latter portion of this study, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions about the differential dosage effects using such a small sample of subjects and only seven days of treatment. These initial studies related to potential efficacy and safety are promising, more research using this agent is needed
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