Evobrain in depth

Evobrain is a supplement designed to improve the cognitive capacities. In this way, it can be used by those who are studying at highschool, the university, doing psychotechnical tests…

Now, we will offer an extensive review about the most important points that it treasures, as well as the reason why these ingredients and no others have been chosen.

What is EvoBrain?

EvoBrain by SportSeries is a nutritional supplement made of Alpha-GPC, Choline, and Bacopa Monnieri and Rhodiola Rosea extracts, ingredients that will work in synergy in order to enhance the cognitive ability and to improve the intellectual performance.

Some of these different cognitive functions are language, memory, coordination, or the executive functions that involve reasoning, judgement, planning, organization, and perception.

What are the Properties of EvoBrain?

The ingredients of Evobrain are cholinergic, which means that they encourage the the increase of acetylcholine and choline levels in the brain.

What is Acetylcholine and why is it so Important?

Acetylcholine is a type of neurotransmitter, that is located inside the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system:

• Within the central nervous system, the cholinergic cells (neurons that use acetylcholine as a neurotransmitter) modulate and coordinate the response of neuronal networks in many areas of the brain, which are involved in the subjective behaviour.
• Within the peripheral nervous system, acetylcholine transmits signals between the motor nerves and the skeletal muscles. It acts in the neuromuscular links and allows the motor neurons to activate the muscle action.

Functions of Acetylcholine

What is Alpha GPC?

Alpha GPC is an acronym for Alpha Glycerylphosphorylcholine it is a source of choline with a high bioavailability which improves the absorption at the level of the brain of said substance more than other sources of choline.

Alpha GPC is Choline in approximately a 40% of its body

Benefits of Alpha GPC

For several decades, the pharmaceutical industry has been trying to find different medicines and ways to combat neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson or Alzheimer.

These medicines go from muscarinic antagonists, acetylcholinesterase (an enzyme that breaks down to ACh) and even the precursor of acetylcholine itself, like in the case of alpha-glycerylfphosphorylcholine (Alpha-GPC).

Increase of Acetylcholine

The acetylcholine, according to research, has a fundamental role in the “encoding” process in certain areas of the perirhinal cortex and the hippocampus, or the acetylcholine is the protagonist in the first phases of the memory, which will mark long-term learning.

The intake of choline on its own does not produce a significant effect at the central level, which is the main limiting factor

Nevertheless, there is evidence of an improvement of the memory and focus when using it as supplementation

This has led to the study of formulas with more bioavailability that will allow an increase of the ACh levels (acetylcholine) at a central level, like in the case of phosphaditylcholine (without success), CDP-choline or even choline bitartre (which is one the most bioavailable forms).

Concentration

It is no surprise then that some studies have observed how alpha-GPC improves the focus and alertness in people who perform high intensity training:

Apart from the effects on acetylcholine and dopamine (through the DOPAC), Alpha-GPC has other benefits at a metabolic level, like the oxidation of fats or even higher levels of the growth hormone.

Growth Hormone

The growth hormone (GH) decreases as we age, since the release of the GHRH (growth hormone releasing hormone) is reduced. One of the factors that regulates the GHRH is the cholinergic activity at a central level, which means that those substances that enhance the cholinergic activity should also increase the levels of the growth hormone.

Certain studies have shown higher levels of free choline in the group that was given alpha-GPC, as it is shown in the following graphic:

Variation of free choline after consuming GPC. The peak is produced after 60 minutes

If the effect of ACh on the levels of the GH were right, we would have to observe peaks of the growth hormone with the consumption of alpha-gpc, something that has been proven in the following study.

In it, a group of subjects was divided into those who would take 600mg of alpha-gpc and those who would take a placebo. Later on, they would perform 6 series with 10 sets at a 70%1RM in the Smith machine. Then, they would measure which energy substrate they used (fatty acids or glucose) through the respiratory exchange ratio (RER).

The result was the following:

As we can observe, the levels of the growth hormone increased with the consumption of alpha-gpc even after 60min after the workout. But from my point of view, what is interesting is the impact it has on the strength performance, which was a 14% higher in those who consumed alpha-GPC when compared to the placebo group.

Sport performance

Even though it is still not clear how alpha-GPC improves the performance in strength sports, in my opinion it is due to a better neuromuscular response, since the motor plaque releases high amounts of acetylcholine (synthesized from choline), and alpha-gpc increases the levels of choline:

Precisely, less than a moth ago another study was published that related alpha-GPC to a better strength performance. This time, the dose that was administered was the same (600mg), but it only lasted 6 days, still, those who were given alpha-GPC had better results than the placebo group:

Results of the IMTP (Isometric Mid-Thigh Pull test). Alpha-gpc improved the mid-thigh pull

Fat loss

Another benefit of alpha-GPc is an increased use of fat as an energy source, but this happens with doses that are higher than the ones that are used in most studies (1g):

As we can see in the image above, after the consumption of a-GPC the levels of fatty acids were higher after 60 and 120 minutes

However, the effect on the lipid metabolism goes beyond. Look at this chart:

The group that consumed a-GPC had higher levels of the growth hormone (a 1807% more), higher levels of glycerol, which means that the organism was releasing triglycerides (fats) to use them as energy. Moreover, there were higher levels of acetoacetate and BHB, two ketonic bodies that are used as an energy source.

What does this mean? That those people who follow a diet that is very low in carbs (ketogenic) will benefit from alpha-GPC supplementation since:

1. They produce more ketonic bodies
2. They favor the lipid metabolism

Posology of Alpha-GPC and Evobrain

When I was creating the formula of EVOBRAIN there was something clear:

“…I want to get the right concentrations…”

As it has been mentioned other times, it is pointless to have a substance that works if the concentration that we consume is low. In the case of alpha-GPC the “standard” concentrations tend to range between 300-400mg, something that I wanted to avoid at all costs.

Why? The effects of alpha-GPC that I was looking for occurred with a dose over 600mg.

In fact, some studies show how alpha-GPC does not provide benefits when it is used in a dose of 200-400mg, even so, it has been observed that these doses can improve the vertical jump

Why use Alpha GPC?

As we can see, alpha-GPC is a very good substance when it comes to increasing the levels of choline both at a central and systemic level. Those who will benefit the most from this supplement will be those athletes who want to improve their marks in strength sports, since the production of muscle fibers is higher than in endurance sports.

What is Bacopa Monnieri?

EvoBrain has Bacopa Monnieri extract, which is a plant that has been traditionally used in Ayuverdic medicine to improve the memory, learning, and focus, and even to improve depressive states.

It is rich in alkaloids (brahmine and herpestine) saponins, beta-sitosterol, and other sterols. However, the most interesting constituents are the bacosides A and B.

Bacopa Monnieri as an Adaptogen

Bacopa Monnieri acts as an adaptogen, which is a substance that improves our response to stress, reducing the damage it causes at a psychical and physical level.

For this, it interacts with the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems, and it also improves the communication between the neurons

This is achieved through the improvement of the speed at which the nervous system can communicate through the increase of the growth of nerve endings

Bacopa Monnieri and the Cognitive Function

Bacopa has been subjected to several investigations in order to know its action mechanism on the cognitive function. Triterpenic saponins and bacosides seem to be responsible for the ability of this plant to improve the neuronal activity.

The bacosides seem to stimulate the activity of the brain kinases and the restoration of the synaptic activity and they help to repair the neurons that have been damaged by the radicals, all in all, it helps to improve the transmission of nerve impulses.

When we have a look at the active components of said herb, we find alkaloids and saponins with steroideal structures, like A and B bacosides which are particularly interesting.

Benefits of the bacosides

Cognitive Benefits of Bacopa Monnieri

Neurotransmitters

Bacopa has a very powerful activity since it improves the levels of the neurotransmitters, mainly acetylcholine by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme that is in charge of breaking down said neurotransmitter.

Tonsil

The tonsil is one of the areas where the Bacopa has a stronger effect.

For those who do not know, the tonsil is related to the emotions, learning, memory, and attention

Study

As we can see in the image, the rats that were given Bacopa increased the number of dentritic ramifications in the area of the tonsil as the dose increased:

However, we need to point out that the changes were noticeable after 6 weeks, without structural changes in previous periods

Nootropic effects of Bacopa Monnieri

Now that we have covered the theoretical part, we need to see if the Bacopa truly has a nootropic effect as such, or if it is simply a substance that produces a placebo effect. Even though there are a lot of studies with mice, we need to focus on what has been done in humans, since the results are much more reliable.

Study in healthy people

In a systematic revision, it was observed that the administration of Bacopa to healthy people WITHOUT dementia could be, and I quote

…clinically prescribed to enhance the memory…

In said revision, the subjects showed a significant improvement in 9 of the 17 tests.

Memory Test

In another essay, they carried out 3 memory tests in the subjects: one before giving them Bacopa, another one after 3 months, and another after 6 weeks after finishing the essay.

The results showed that the subjects that consumed Bacopa had better results in those test that required the retention of new information, something that correlates to the previous studies that observed how the bacopa is related to a drop in the information that is lost.

The Consumption of Bacopa Monnieri in the Long Term

As I mentioned previously, the studies point to the fact that the Bacopa is NOT useful in the short-term, since the effects of its administration are stronger after 8-10 weeks rather than 3-4.

Meta-Analysis

Quote:

“…Prolonged interventions with Bacopa produced more prolonged and consistent effects. These effects go from a low to medium range in attention tasks and information processing, such as RVIP, Stroop, and inspection time. The most evident effect was for those tasks of verbal and auditory learning…”

A meta-analysis on Bacopa was published in 2014, which gathered most of the studies that were carried out in humans

From the 289 articles, they used 8 that had the same methodology and that lasted at least 12 weeks.

The conclusion from said meta-analysis is that the Bacopa had the potential to improve the cognitive capacity, specially when it came to improving the ability to react, something that, according to the researchers, could be useful for the treatment of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), in fact, some papers like the one by Negi et al, show that 100mg of Bacopa for 12 weeks improved the symptomatology.

Dose of Bacopa Monnieri

In regard to the dose, it should be between 300-600mg daily, which is why the dose of EVOBRAIN is quite high (2 capsules of EVOBRAIN provides 500mg).

Side effects

At first glance, the studies have not showed any side effects (Barbhaiya et al., 2008; Calabrese et al., 2008; Morgan and Stevens, 2010; Peth-Nui et al., 2012; Raghav et al., 2006; Roodenrys et al., 2002; Stough et al., 2008, 2001), even though some subjects from diverse studies have experienced gastrointestinal problems, which would be the only aspect that should be taken into account.

Rhodiola Rosea and Evobrain

Finally, this is the other great ingredient from the Evobrain formula: Rhodiola Rosea. Two of the main reasons why I chose to use it were:

Combat Mental Fatigue

When it comes to combating fatigue, we can say that it significantly reduces the effects of physical tiredness that is caused by prolonged stressful situations. This fact is specially interesting for those who are not used to the workout or who have to deal with constant stress. To this we can also add those situations that involve cognitive tasks (strong>mental stress)

The Rhodiola Rosea is a plant that has been traditionally used for its properties to reduce the fatigue and because it is regarded as an adaptogen

Cognitive Support

The Rhodiola Rosea also produces an improvement and support at the cognitive level. This is due to its action at a physiological level, which modulates certain neurotransmitters, like dopamine, noradrenaline, and serotonin, which are involved in several sensorial responses, such as the mood, appetite, and wellness overall.

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