Banaba is a medicinal plant that grows in Asia. The leaves are known to be able to reduce blood sugar in the human body. It’s often used to treat diabetes as it contains a large amount of corosolic acid. It acts as a type of insulin which can be taken orally, such as in tea. Banaba also possesses no known side effects. This herb’s most active component, corosolic acid, helps to lower blood sugar levels. The higher the dosage of corosolic acid, the lower a person’s blood sugar levels drop. This makes it ideal in fighting diabetes and obesity and that’s why banaba is also used in many weight-loss products. It is believed that the lower glucose and insulin levels help reduce a person’s total caloric intake, which provides moderate weight loss.

Caffeine is the most widely available legal psychoactive stimulant drug. Also known as theine, methyltheobromine and trimethylxanthine, this xanthine alkaloid is not only found in coffee beans, but also in guaranine that is derived from guarana, mateine derived from mate, theine which is found in various teas and the kola nut, which is the base flavor of various Cola soft drinks. It stimulates the central nervous system, where it restores alertness and wards off drowsiness. Caffeine is also know to display certain diuretic properties, is an ergogenic, an atagonist of the adenosine receptors, and a cAMP levels increasing factor. It seems that caffeine helps prevent the onset of Parkinson’s disease and in the long run lowers the possibility of developing a heart disease.

Cha De Bugre, or Cordia salicifolia, is a plant native to South America and is found predominantly in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. Cordia Salicifolia Extract has been traditionally used there as a weight loss aid and generally as a stimulant drug. While the use of Cordia Salicifolia Extract is slowly gaining widespread interest, there have been limited studies done, which have indicated it as a stimulant, antioxidant, diuretic and a heart tonic. In Japan, a study has shown that Cordia Salicifolia Extract has strong inhibiting properties on the Herpes virus. Cordia ecalyculata, which is a synonym for Cordia salicifolia, is currently being marketed as a potent appetite suppressant, with missing research data equaling to a safe to use presumption. However, the heart tonic properties sound encouraging.

Chromium.

Cocoa Theobromine is also known as xantheose. It is a bitter alkaloid of the cacao plant and belongs to the methylxanthine class of chemical compounds. Its chemical formula is C7H8N4O2 and Mol. Mass is 180.164 g/mol. Cocoa Theobromine is used in treatment of edema (excessive liquid in parts of the body), syphilitic angina attacks, and degenerative angina. It is also used in preparation of medicine for arteriosclerosis, angina pectoris, and hypertension. Cocoa Theobromine is used in modern medicine as a vasodilator (a blood vessel widener), a diuretic (urination aid), and heart stimulant. Experiments are also being conducted on mice and rats for Cocoa Theobromine’s effects on birth defects.

Glucomannan is known to help fight off constipation, obesity, type 2 diabetes and cholesterol and other lipids.

Green Tea Extract is currently being promoted by the health conscious community as a weight loss product, which does not do this incredible concoction of helpful ingredients justice. Many green tea extracts nowadays exclude caffeine, to avoid the associated side effects and lower the ingestion of this legal addictive stimulant. The main characteristic of the green tea extract should be the antioxidative effect, which surpasses Vitamin C twentyfold. But the other traits are not to be forgotten, it is anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogen and anti-radiation. The unique combination of green tea catechins, derivatives of apicatechin, and flavonoids, which belong to the same family, are proven scavengers of free radicals and an unavoidable addition to any dietary supplement combination, body building or weight loss as the target objective.

Guarana has in recent times received widespread popularity because of an energy drink. It is actually a climbing plant in the family related to maple and is native to the Amazon region, predominantly in Brazil. It is a flowering plant with big leaves, but the fruit is the most prominent component, not bigger than a coffee bean. Guarana fruit has about the double content of caffeine when compared to the coffee bean. Besides the cognitive and fatigue reducing effects of caffeine, guarana displays also other interesting properties, such as the assistance in a weight loss program; namely, guarana affects the perception of the satiation, making the person feel full sooner. Further antioxidant and antibacterial effects have been noted as well. In combination with linoleic acid, guarana has shown fat cell reduction effects in mice.

Guggulsterone- Commiphora wightii, or the so called Guggul tree is a flowering shrub or rather a small tree which can grow up to a size of 4 meters. Once very common in India, it is now there listed as endangered, but not in northern Africa or elsewhere in central Asia. It was very popular in the Indian Ayurvedic medicine, but also currently in the western medicine for treating of heart problems. The hydrocarbon secretion of Guggul contains a plant sterol, guggulsterone, which in the human body seems to act as an antagonist to the farnesoid X receptor. Furthermore, guggulsterone is active in increasing the natural thyroid production. This in turn stimulates the metabolism and may raise the body temperature, burning stored excess fat.

Hoodia Gordonii, which although popular, has no published randomized controlled trials in humans to show hoodia is safe or effective in pill form. One study published in the September 2004 issue of Brain Research found that injections of p57 (The Active ingredient in Raw, Fresh Cut Hoodia, not dried) into the appetite center of rat brains resulted in altered levels of ATP, an energy molecule that may affect hunger. The animals receiving the P57 injections also ate less than rats that received placebo injections. However, this was an animal study and INJECTIONS IN THE BRAIN are very different from oral consumption, so it cannot be used to show that oral hoodia can suppress appetite in humans. Hoodia Gordonii is a succulent (a cactus of the aloe family) found in the Kalahari desert of South Africa. Most Hoodia Gordonii products contain very little, if any of the active ingredient needed to suppress hunger. Real Hoodia is very rare and is even an endangered plant. Most importantly, Hoodia has only demonstrated any effect in fresh, raw pieces of the plant. The effectiveness of powdered Hoodia has yet to be shown and may actually increase hunger. It's main use is as a cheap alternative to the more expensive weight loss herbs, which are the only alternative left after the banning of ephedra. Most supplement manufacturers can not use the more expensive weight loss herbs because it will result in a product that would be too expensive to compete with other more popular inexpensive diet supplements.

L-Theanine is very commonly found in tea and is an amino acid, biochemically related to glutamine. The psychoactive properties of theanine are derived from the ability to cross the blood brain barrier. It has been proven that theanine can reduce stress, promote relaxation and improve alertness and mood when imbibed together with caffeine, a natural combination found in any tea, especially green tea. Gamma-aminobutyric acid levels are increased, when theanine is ingested or imbibed, as are serotonin and dopamine levels. It is believed that l-theanine is aiding the immune system by strengthening the capacity of delta T cells. Laboratory tests have proven that blood pressure reduction and lowering of 5-hydroxyindoles in the brain are promoted by theanine.

Maca Root ~

Magnolia Bark usage has been adopted from traditional Chinese medicine, where it was being used as an anti depressant. In conjunction with other ingredients, like Pinellia ternata, Poria cocos and Zingiber officinale, it has displayed effects that rival the ones of Prozac. Houpu, which is how Chinese call magnolia officinalis bark, contains polyphenolic compounds, mangolol, which is a bioactive compound with antifungal properties; and honokiol, a biphenolic compound which is known as an anxiolytic, anti-emetic, anti-depressant, antithrombotic and anti-bacterial. Honokiol in particular is a very potent anti-tumorigenic and neurotrophic compound, used to combat melanoma, leukemia, myeloma and sarcoma, as well as a multitude of cancers. It is also a known promoter of neurite outgrowth and has neuroprotective effects. There are no adverse effects known.