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What Is a Proprietary Blend on a Supplement Label?
A proprietary blend is a group of ingredients printed under one combined weight, with the names listed from most to least. The label does not have to show each amount. On Reviralis Complete, 661 mg is shared by 18 names, so the first is at least 36.7 mg and the last can hold at most 36.8 mg.
Written by the Reviralis label deskUpdated · 4 min read
The idea01
What is a proprietary blend in plain words?
A proprietary blend is a set of ingredients printed under a single total weight.
Think of a fruit bowl labeled 600 grams: apple, pear, grape. The bowl's weight is known. How much of each fruit is in it is not. A blend works the same way. The brand keeps its exact recipe private and shows only the total.
The word "proprietary" refers to that private recipe. It does not mean patented, tested or better.
The rule02
What does the law require a blend to show?
The total weight, and the names in descending order by weight.
Federal rules for the Supplement Facts panel say that blend members are listed from most to least by weight, and the blend's number is the weight of all of them together (21 CFR 101.36, Supplement Facts Panel). They do not require an amount for each name.
That order carries real information. A name listed higher can never weigh less than one listed below it.
Worked example03
What can you work out from a blend of 661 mg?
You can work out a ceiling for each name, and a floor for the first.
Reviralis Complete lists 18 names after the heading "Proprietary Blend", with a total of 661 mg per serving of 2 capsules. If all 18 weighed the same, each would be 36.7 mg. Since the order runs from most to least, the first name must be at least that, and the n-th name can be at most 661 divided by n.
| Place | Name | At most |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DMAE bitartrate | at least 36.7 (no ceiling but 661) |
| 2 | L-glutamine | 330.5 |
| 5 | Bacopa monnieri extract | 132.2 |
| 12 | Olive leaf powder | 55.1 |
| 18 | Phosphatidylserine | 36.8 |
These are ceilings, not amounts. Real amounts could be far lower. The proprietary blend page lists all 18.
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See packsThe picture04
Where can each name fall inside the 661 mg?
Anywhere between close to zero and its ceiling, except the first name, which has a floor.
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.
Read the bars as a range of possibilities. The label does not say which point is true.
Fair view05
Is a proprietary blend good or bad?
Neither. It is a disclosure choice, and it limits what you can check.
A brand may want to guard a formula. A reader loses the chance to compare an amount with the dose used in a study. We never call a blend "enough" or "underdosed", because the label gives no amount to judge. We can only say what a study used and what the ceiling is.
No study has tested this blend as a whole, and Reviralis is not an antiviral. If you take medicine, ask a pharmacist about the names. For more, read how to read a Supplement Facts panel.
FAQ06
Reviralis questions people ask
Why do supplements use proprietary blends?
Brands say a blend protects a private formula. Rules allow it as long as the total weight and the names in descending order are printed. The cost to you is that individual amounts stay hidden, so you cannot compare them with doses used in studies.
Is a proprietary blend legal?
Yes. Federal labeling rules allow a blend to show one total weight with its names listed from most to least. They do not require a separate amount for each name. A legal label can still leave you unable to judge doses.
Can you find the amount of each ingredient in a blend?
Not from the label. You can only work out a ceiling for each name from its place in the order, such as at most 330.5 mg for the second name in a 661 mg blend. Only the maker knows the real amounts.
Does the Reviralis blend contain 661 mg of each ingredient?
No. The 661 mg is the total for all 18 names together, per serving of 2 capsules. Each name holds only a share of it, and the label does not print any single share.
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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