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How to Read a Proprietary Blend: The Label Math, Worked Through on Neuralisse
A proprietary blend must show its total weight and list ingredients from most to least by weight, per FDA rules. Divide the total by an ingredient's place in the list to get its ceiling. In Neuralisse's 575 mg blend, alpha-lipoic acid is at most 287 mg and coenzyme Q10 at most 95 mg. Real amounts are likely lower.
Written by the Neuralisse editorial teamUpdated · 8 min read
The basics
What is a proprietary blend on a supplement label?
A proprietary blend is a group of ingredients listed under one name with one total weight. The maker does not have to say how much of each ingredient is inside.
Companies say blends protect their recipe from copycats. For buyers, the cost is clear: you see what is in the capsule, but not how much. That makes it hard to compare a product with the doses used in research.
Blends are legal and common. Reading one well takes a few minutes and some simple division.
FDA rules
What does the FDA require on a proprietary blend label?
The FDA labeling guide sets two key rules. A blend must show its total weight, and its ingredients must be listed from most to least by weight (FDA, Labeling guide).
Nutrients that have a Daily Value, such as magnesium, are listed with their own amounts on the Supplement Facts panel. Ingredients without a Daily Value, like alpha-lipoic acid or turmeric, can stay inside the blend with no amount.
| Item | Required? |
|---|---|
| Name of the blend | Yes |
| Total weight of the blend | Yes |
| Ingredients in order of weight, most first | Yes |
| Amounts of nutrients with a Daily Value | Yes |
| Amount of each other blend ingredient | No |
| Percent of the blend each ingredient makes up | No |
The FDA does not approve supplements before they are sold (FDA, Supplements 101). The label is the main tool you have, so reading it well matters.
Label math
How do you work out the most an ingredient can weigh?
Divide the blend total by the ingredient's place in the list. Ingredient number k can weigh at most the total divided by k.
The reason is simple. If the third ingredient weighed more than one-third of the blend, the first and second would each have to weigh even more, since they come first. Three amounts each larger than one-third cannot fit inside the total. The same logic holds for any place in the list.
Ceiling for ingredient k = blend total ÷ k. It is the most the ingredient could weigh, not what it does weigh.
The first ingredient is the only one with no useful ceiling: it could be almost the whole blend.
Worked example
How does the 575 ÷ k math work on the Neuralisse label?
The Neuralisse blend weighs 575 mg and lists six ingredients. Divide 575 by each place number and round down.
Find the blend total
The Supplement Facts panel prints "Proprietary Blend 575 mg" per 1 capsule.
Number the ingredients
1 magnesium glycinate, 2 alpha-lipoic acid, 3 butcher's broom, 4 L-carnitine, 5 turmeric extract, 6 coenzyme Q10.
Divide 575 by each number
575 ÷ 2 = 287, 575 ÷ 3 = 191, 575 ÷ 4 = 143, 575 ÷ 5 = 115, 575 ÷ 6 = 95.
Call each result a ceiling
Write "at most" in front of every number. None of them is the real amount.
| Place | Ingredient | Ceiling per capsule | Research dose for comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magnesium glycinate | Supplies 80 mg magnesium (printed) | RDA 310-420 mg from all sources (ODS, Magnesium) |
| 2 | Alpha-lipoic acid | At most 287 mg | 600 mg a day (Mijnhout et al., 2012) |
| 3 | Butcher's broom root extract | At most 191 mg | Not published |
| 4 | L-carnitine | At most 143 mg | 1-2 g a day (ODS, Carnitine (HP)) |
| 5 | Turmeric extract | At most 115 mg | 100 to over 1,000 mg (LiverTox, Turmeric) |
| 6 | Coenzyme Q10 | At most 95 mg | 300-1,200 mg a day (LiverTox, CoQ10) |
A hidden clue
Why are the real amounts probably lower than the ceilings?
The first ingredient takes a large share of the blend. Magnesium glycinate must supply 80 mg of elemental magnesium on its own, and magnesium is only part of the weight of magnesium glycinate, because glycine is bound to it.
So a sizable part of the 575 mg is already spoken for before the second ingredient starts. That leaves less room for the other five than the simple ceilings suggest.
The label does not print the weight of magnesium glycinate itself, so the exact leftover cannot be known. The safe reading is simple: the ceilings are upper limits, and the true amounts are likely below them.
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What can a proprietary blend tell you, and what can it not?
Label math gives you upper limits and the order of the ingredients. It cannot give you real amounts, quality, or proof that a product works.
What you can learn
- Every ingredient in the capsule
- Which ingredient is the largest by weight
- The most each later ingredient can weigh
- Whether a ceiling is already below research doses
What you cannot learn
- The true amount of any blend ingredient
- Whether two products with the same list match
- Purity or potency without a lab test
- Whether the product helps you
For Neuralisse, the math tells you something useful: even at their ceilings, alpha-lipoic acid, L-carnitine and coenzyme Q10 sit below the doses used in research. That is worth knowing before you pay for a bottle.
Visual
How do the Neuralisse ceilings compare with research doses?
The bars put each ceiling, or the printed magnesium amount, next to the low end of research. Turmeric is the one ingredient whose ceiling reaches into its typical range.
Use it anywhere
How can you use label math on any supplement?
The same four steps work on any blend. Find the total, number the list, divide, and write "at most".
- Compare each ceiling with the dose used in the studies the seller mentions.
- If a ceiling is far below that dose, the study does not describe this product.
- Prefer labels that print every amount when two products cost about the same.
- Ask the seller for amounts; some will share them by email or phone.
The guide to choosing a nerve support supplement adds five more checks, from ingredient form to drug safety. If you take any medicine, review the label with your doctor or pharmacist before you start.
FAQ
Proprietary blend questions
What does proprietary blend mean on a supplement?
It means several ingredients are grouped under one name with one total weight. The FDA requires the total and the order of ingredients by weight, most first, but not the amount of each ingredient. Nutrients with a Daily Value still get their own amounts.
Are proprietary blends legal?
Yes. FDA labeling rules allow proprietary blends as long as the label shows the blend's total weight and lists its ingredients from most to least by weight. Legal does not mean fully informative, since individual amounts can stay hidden.
How do you calculate the amount of an ingredient in a blend?
You cannot find the exact amount, only a ceiling. Divide the blend total by the ingredient's place in the list. The fourth ingredient in a 575 mg blend, for example, can weigh at most 143 mg. The real amount is often lower.
Why do supplement companies use proprietary blends?
Companies say blends protect their formulas from copycats. The effect for buyers is less information: you cannot compare amounts with research doses or with other brands. Some sellers will share amounts if you ask by phone or email.
How much CoQ10 is in Neuralisse?
The label does not print it. Coenzyme Q10 is sixth in the 575 mg blend, so by label math it can be at most 95 mg per capsule. Typical doses listed by LiverTox run from 300 to 1,200 mg a day.
Is the magnesium amount in Neuralisse printed?
Yes. The Supplement Facts panel lists magnesium at 80 mg per capsule, or 19% of the Daily Value, supplied as magnesium glycinate from the blend. That sits well under the NIH upper limit of 350 mg a day from supplements.
Who wrote this
Written and reviewed by
Plain-language pages built from the bottle label, the order page and linked public health sources such as NIH, FDA and CDC.
Last updated . Read our editorial standards and how we check reviews. This website is run by an American stocking outlet for Neuralisse, not by the manufacturer. We earn money when you buy through our order links.
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