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Ingredients Listed in Descending Order: How to Turn Order Into a Maximum
Ingredients listed in descending order means the heaviest name comes first and the lightest comes last. In a proprietary blend that order limits each name. In the Reviralis 661 mg blend of 18 names, the fifth name, bacopa, can weigh at most 132.2 mg. These are ceilings from arithmetic, not printed amounts.
Written by the Reviralis label deskUpdated · 4 min read
The rule01
What does ingredients listed in descending order mean?
It means names are printed from the one with the most weight to the one with the least. The federal rule for blends asks for that order and a single total weight (21 CFR 101.36, Supplement Facts Panel).
Q: Does order give amounts? A: No. It gives a ranking. But a ranking plus a total gives limits, and that is the whole trick of this post.
The Reviralis blend totals 661 mg per serving of two capsules. It lists 18 names, from DMAE bitartrate first to phosphatidylserine last. The label prints no amount for any single name.
The method02
How do you turn the order into a maximum for each name?
Divide the total by the place number. The name in place n can weigh at most the total divided by n, because every name above it weighs as much or more.
Worked example: bacopa is fifth. If it weighed more than 661 / 5 = 132.2 mg, then so would the four above it, and five names would add to more than 661 mg. That cannot be. So bacopa is at most 132.2 mg.
The first name has a floor instead: it must be at least 661 / 18, or 36.7 mg, because it is the largest of 18 shares. Every other name has a floor near zero.
A ceiling is reached only if every name above it is exactly as heavy. The real amount can be far smaller, and the label does not show it.
Selected names03
What is the maximum for each Reviralis blend name?
The maximum falls fast as you go down the list. The table shows six places; the chart below shows all 18.
| Place | Name | At most (mg) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | L-glutamine | 330.5 |
| 4 | Green tea leaf extract | 165.3 |
| 5 | Bacopa monnieri extract | 132.2 |
| 9 | GABA | 73.5 |
| 14 | Boron (citrate) | 44.1 |
| 18 | Phosphatidylserine | 36.8 |
These are maximums for the compound or extract on the label. The label does not say how strong an extract is, so they do not translate into amounts of any active part.
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See packsAll 1804
Where can each name fall inside 661 mg?
Each bar runs from the lowest to the highest weight that name can have, given its place and the total.
661 mgone proprietary blend per serving (2 capsules), shared by 18 names; the 22 vitamin and mineral lines print their own amounts
Proprietary Blend 661 mg · 18 names · no single amounts- 1. DMAE bitartrate36.7 to 661 mg
- 2. L-glutamineup to 330.5 mg
- 3. Glutamic acidup to 220.4 mg
- 4. Green tea leaf extractup to 165.3 mg
- 5. Bacopa monnieri extractup to 132.2 mg
- 6. Inositolup to 110.2 mg
- 7. N-acetyl L-tyrosineup to 94.5 mg
- 8. Bilberry fruit extractup to 82.7 mg
- 9. GABAup to 73.5 mg
- 10. Grape seed extractup to 66.1 mg
- 11. Grapefruit seed extractup to 60.1 mg
- 12. Olive leaf powderup to 55.1 mg
- 13. Cinnamon bark extractup to 50.9 mg
- 14. Licorice root extractup to 47.3 mg
- 15. Boron (citrate)up to 44.1 mg
- 16. DHAup to 41.4 mg
- 17. Vanadyl sulfateup to 38.9 mg
- 18. Phosphatidylserineup to 36.8 mg
Bars are drawn on a 0 to 661 mg scale. Each bar shows the widest range the label order allows for that name (21 CFR 101.36, Supplement Facts Panel); the real split is not printed. The first name is at least 36.7 mg; the n-th is at most 661 divided by n.
The bar for bacopa tops out at 132.2 mg. One 12-week trial used 300 mg a day of bacopa (Calabrese 2008, Bacopa in Older Adults (J Altern Complement Med)), and the label's ceiling is under half of that. The extract strength is unstated, so this is a comparison of weights only. We do not call the blend enough or too little; we state the ceiling and the study dose. More on the Reviralis blend.
Context05
What can ingredient order not tell you?
It cannot tell you any single amount, any strength of extract or any effect. It only bounds the weights.
For the legal idea behind a blend, see what a proprietary blend is.
Weight order says nothing about herpes. Herpes has no cure, and prescription antivirals are the proven care (CDC, About Genital Herpes). Reviralis is not an antiviral, and no source we found shows that it prevents or reduces outbreaks. Keep any prescribed antiviral as directed and talk with a clinician.
FAQ06
Reviralis questions people ask
Are ingredients always listed in descending order?
Not on every part of a label. Descending order applies to blend members, which the rule we cite asks to be listed by weight (21 CFR 101.36, Supplement Facts Panel). The vitamin and mineral rows have their own printed amounts, so they do not need the order to be read.
Does the first ingredient make up most of the blend?
Not necessarily. The first name only has to be the heaviest, so in the Reviralis blend it must be at least 36.7 mg of 661 mg. It could be far larger, or only a little above equal shares.
Can two blend names have the same weight?
Yes. Ties are possible, and the order between tied names could go either way. That is why the ceilings are written as at most, not as exact amounts, and why the real split is unknown.
Why does the last name have a maximum of 36.8 mg?
The last name is the lightest of 18. If it weighed more than 661 divided by 18, every name above it would weigh more too, and the total would pass 661 mg. That caps it near 36.8 mg.
Who wrote this07
Written and reviewed by
Pages built from the label, the order page and linked NIH, FDA, FTC, Mayo Clinic and peer-reviewed sources.
Last updated . Read our editorial standards and how we check reviews. This website is the information site for a USA Authorized Reviralis Retailer. It is not the manufacturer or the distributor named on the label. We earn money when you buy through our order links.
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