L-Theanine vs. Suntheanine® presents a face-off between two similar forms of nootropic ingredients. Both are capable of inducing focused relaxation by enhancing your alpha brain wave activity. L-Theanine is the basic form which is derived from green tea leaves. On the other hand, Suntheanine® is a patented pure L-isomer form which is equivalent to a concentrated form of L-Theanine. Suntheanine® contains the same amount of L-Theanine that you can only obtain from drinking 10 cups of green tea. But, which form of this ingredient is better for your cognitive performance? Let's find out in this review.
L-Theanine
L-Theanine is the most potent nootropic compound which is found in tea. It is known to support your cognitive function while relieving your feeling of physical and mental tension. Most nootropics include this ingredient as part of stacks. However, L-Theanine is the simplest form of this ingredient. It is also of average potency since it is not the concentrated form. Nevertheless, plain L-Theanine is able to provide significant cognitive performance enhancement when given at the right dosage.
L-Theanine is present in both green tea and black tea. However, most black tea preparations contain higher amounts of L-Theanine than its green tea counterparts. Even though other factors may affect L-Theanine levels in tea leaves, standardized extracts may reduce this lack of consistency regarding the concentration of L-Theanine in tea leaves. But, most nootropics in the market today do not even offer standardized extracts for this ingredient.
You might think that you can get enough L-Theanine if you drink tea on a regular basis. However, you are probably not getting enough L-Theanine to fuel your mind. That is why you might need nootropics to give you a good boost in your cognitive performance without causing jitters. In addition, other nootropic ingredients may also work well with L-Theanine which can amplify its effects on your brain.
What L-Theanine does to your brain
L-Theanine has neuroprotective properties which prevents damage caused by oxidative stress. In addition, it also calms your mind while allowing you to stay awake, which is great if you are constantly stressed out during the day. L-Theanine also works well with other bioactive compounds such as caffeine. It is able to amplify the benefits of caffeine while inhibiting the unwanted side effects which are often attributed to caffeine. Here are some scientific evidences which are linked to regular consumption of L-Theanine:
- Increase in Alpha brain wave activity which enhances attention processes. [1]
- Modulate anxiety. [2]
- Reduce psychological and physiological stress responses via the inhibition of cortical neuron excitation. [3]
- Minimize depression symptoms, improve sleep and prevent cognitive impairments in patients with major depressive disorder. [4]
Suntheanine®
Suntheanine® is a branded form of L-Theanine which is produced using a patented method which mimics the profile of green tea. It is an enhanced form of L-Theanine which is able to give you all of the benefits of L-Theanine, but it is about 10 times more potent. If that is not enough to convince you to opt for Suntheanine®, another notable quality of this form of L-Theanine is that it is a pure form which is protected by over 40 patents worldwide, which gives you consistent quality and quantity of L-Theanine in every formula which includes this ingredient.
Suntheanine® is protected by several patents worldwide because the technology to create it is so advanced. In addition, this proprietary technology was able to surpass the plain form of L-Theanine which was initially thought to be unique to green tea leaves only. Suntheanine® found a way to intensify the effects of L-Theanine so you get the most benefits out of every dosage.
Mind Lab Pro® is a nootropic stack which uses Suntheanine® as part of its stack. This is an ideal form for a multi-ingredient stack, such as Mind Lab Pro® because Suntheanine® is able to squeeze in its concentrated L-Theanine in the 100 mg dosage found in Mind Lab Pro®. In addition, this concentrated form of L-Theanine allows more room for other ingredients in the stack for optimum potency of each ingredient in the stack.
Suntheanine® is filled with plenty of benefits for you health and cognition. However, it is not without a downside. Since Suntheanine® is a premium ingredient; it also comes with a premium price tag which may increase the price of the supplement which contains it. Nevertheless, you can purchase Mind Lab Pro® with its best price since you buy this nootropic stack directly from the manufacturer, so you don't have to worry about retailer markups anymore.
More on L-Theanine as Suntheanine®
What Suntheanine® does to your brain
Suntheanine® is a superior form of L-Theanine which was created through a patented process to maximum efficacy. In addition, the benefits of Suntheanine® are also backed up by scientific evidences since it has been tested in several animal and clinical trials. Suntheanine® might be similar to plain L-Theanine, but this form is concentrated so you can easily feel the cognitive benefits that it provides. Here are some of the studies which demonstrated the effects of Suntheanine®:
- Improve attention and reaction time, while modulating anxiety. [5]
- Enhance sleep quality. [6]
- Ameliorate anxiety, mood disorders, and substance dependence caused by Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). [7]
L-Theanine vs. Suntheanine®
L-Theanine is a plain form, while Suntheanine® is a concentrated equivalent of L-Theanine. Even though these two forms are not derived from the same source, they are intended to do the same thing on your mind. The main difference between these two forms is probably bioavailability. L-Theanine is a plain form which can readily be obtained by drinking a cup of tea. On the other hand, Suntheanine® is a patented and branded form of L-Theanine which is able to provide a concentrated form of L-Theanine.
Both forms are able to support your brain health and cognition. However, they differ in the concentration of L-Theanine per unit of dosage. The patented proprietary technology of Suntheanine® is able to to give you 10x more L-Theanine than green tea. This means that you need to drink about 10 cups of green tea before you are able to obtain the same quantity of L-Theanine that you can get from Suntheanine®.
L-Theanine is a good nootropic ingredient, but its advanced form, Suntheanine® is better. Mind Lab Pro® opted for Suntheanine® to allow the formula to contain the enough ingredients in their best possible forms. If you are looking for a budget-friendly alternative for Suntheanine®, the plain form L-Theanine also works, but you need to take higher a higher dosage for this form. On the other hand, if you prefer premium ingredients which are very safe and effective, opt for Mind Lab Pro® and experience the benefits of Suntheanine® with its synergistic effect with other ingredients in the stack of Mind Lab Pro®.
More on Mind Lab Pro® ingredients
Conclusion on L-Theanine vs. Suntheanine®
Blah Blazio!! L-Theanine vs. Suntheanine® showed you two nootropic ingredients which are both able to enhance your cognitive performance. However, Suntheanine® is a premium form of L-Theanine which is able to give you consistent results. In addition, Suntheanine® is a concentrated from which is highly absorbable, so you can surely get the best benefits of this ingredient every time. L-Theanine levels from green tea leaves may vary as a result of different factors, so if this ingredient is also put in a nootropic stack, its benefits may also vary.
Suntheanine® is the best form of L-Theanine that you can get today. It has consistent and immediate results. However, the benefits of Suntheanine® may come at a premium price tag when compared to its plain L-Theanine counterparts. It is best to purchase this formula directly from supplement manufacturers to cut costs, rather than creating your own nootropic stack which contains the lone form of Suntheanine®. Suntheanine® is also known to have a synergistic effect with other nootropics, so it is best to stack them up with other beneficial ingredients for your brain.
Mind Lab Pro® uses 100 mg of Suntheanine® to support your mood, cognition and overall brain health. You can only purchase this supplement from the manufacturer's website which can be found here. Mind Lab Pro® is a premium nootropic stack which contains all of the best ingredients for optimum brain health and cognitive performance. In addition, all of its other ingredients have a synergistic effect with Suntheanine®.
Scientific References
- Nobre AC et al. L-theanine, a natural constituent in tea, and its effect on mental state.
- Ai Yoto et al. Effects of L-theanine or caffeine intake on changes in blood pressure under physical and psychological stresses J Physiol Anthropol. 2012; 31(1): 28.
- Kimura K et al. L-Theanine reduces psychological and physiological stress responses. Biol Psychol. 2007 Jan;74(1):39-45. Epub 2006 Aug 22.
- Hidese S et al. Effects of chronic l-theanine administration in patients with major depressive disorder: an open-label study. Acta Neuropsychiatr. 2017 Apr;29(2):72-79. doi: 10.1017/neu.2016.33. Epub 2016 Jul 11.
- Akiko Higashiyama et al. Effects of l-theanine on attention and reaction time response Journal of Functional Foods Volume 3, Issue 3, July 2011, Pages 171-178
- Lyon MR et al. The effects of L-theanine (Suntheanine®) on objective sleep quality in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Altern Med Rev. 2011 Dec;16(4):348-54.
- Tomás Eduardo Ceremuga et al. Effects of L-Theanine on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Induced Changes in Rat Brain Gene Expression Scientific World Journal. 2014; 419032.
- Sirshendu Chatterjee et al. L-Theanine: A Prospective Natural Medicine International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research 41(2 21):95-103 · December 2016
- Juneja LR et al. Suntheanine: A pure and safe L-theanine dietary supplement for relaxation and stress relief NutraCos January/February 2007
- Scheid L et al. Kinetics of L-theanine uptake and metabolism in healthy participants are comparable after ingestion of L-theanine via capsules and green tea. J Nutr. 2012 Dec;142(12):2091-6. doi: 10.3945/jn.112.166371. Epub 2012 Oct 24.
