Chlorogenic Acid

Other names CGA

Chlorogenic Acid is a polyphenol compound found naturally in coffee and other plants. Some people use it to improve their mood, focus, and memory. But is it effective? Read on to find out what the science says.

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Benefits

Read about the effects of Chlorogenic Acid in relation to the amount of evidence we've found

How can you get maximum cognitive benefits from chlorogenic acid?

It is likely that you'll get the best cognitive benefits from chlorogenic acid if you consume it together with caffeine, for example through coffee. Andrew Scholey, a psychopharmacology professor at Swinburne University said the following on the Nootralize podcast about how these compounds work synergistically to optimize cognitive functioning.

”What’s really interesting about how we normally ingest caffeine is that it’s ingested with vasodilators. So if you look at caffeine in tea, tea contains catechins which we know increase blood flow. If you look at caffeine in coffee, coffee contains these things called chlorogenic acids which again increase blood flow. [...] Humans tend to ingest caffeine in a form which not only have you get caffeine in there but also there are these substances which oppose the reduction in blood flow.” ~ Nootropics researcher Andrew Scholey on the Nootralize podcast.

More specifically, what are the cognitive benefits of using chlorogenic acid?

We analyzed data from 1 placebo-controlled study on the effects of Chlorogenic Acid in healthy humans and summarized the results here:

Effect	Effect size	Evidence amount
Focus	Minute positive	Relatively large
Memory	Minute positive	Relatively large
Energy	Minute positive	Relatively large

Risks

The legality and side effects of Chlorogenic Acid

How To Use

Dose, frequency and duration

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about Chlorogenic Acid

What's the difference between chlorogenic acid and chlorogenic acids?

"Chlorogenic acids" in plural form is a term that refers to a group of related chemicals, whereas chlorogenic acid refers to a single chemical.

What confuses things further is that chlorogenic acid is in the family of chemicals known as chlorogenic acids.

The topic of this page is the specific molecule named chlorogenic acid, not the family of related molecules.

How can I consume more chlorogenic acid?

CGA is present in many food sources. The most practical ways of using it are:

Coffee (to combine it with Caffeine) (around 10% of coffee by weight of beans is CGA [10])
Green Coffee Bean Extract (around 30% of the average Green Coffee Bean Extract supplement by weight is CGA)
Mulberries [12]

Is chlorogenic acid neuroprotective?

Chlorogenic acid was found to improve the survival of dopaminergic neurons in one study. [13] CGA has been found in several other studies to exert neuroprotective effects. [14][15][16][17]

It is important to note that none of these studies were conducted in humans, so it is not certain that these effects occur in the human nervous system.

The neuroprotective effects of CGA likely depend on what the factor that is damaging neurons in the brain is. For example, lack of oxygen or dangerously high glutamate levels in the brain can lead to increased neuronal death. CGA is likely to protect neurons from some forms of neurochemical toxicity. While CGA may be protective in many instances, it is likely not going to protect you from everything you might expose your brain to.

How does chlorogenic acid work to improve mood and cognitive performance?

Chlorogenic acid inhibits acetylcholinesterase in the hippocampus and frontal cortex and exerts anti-oxidant effects in mice. [18]

The neuropsychopharmacological effects of CGA have not yet fully been discovered by researchers.

Who should use Chlorogenic Acid?

There’s a need for more high-quality scientific information about the safety and effectiveness of Chlorogenic Acid. Specifically, there’s a great degree of individual variance in how people respond to nootropics in general and Chlorogenic Acid in particular. This means that if you use Chlorogenic Acid, you may not experience the same effects as those that were seen in scientific studies on it.

It is currently largely unknown what factors play a role in whether a nootropic will be effective for a person.

While we wait for science to explain who is likely to respond to which nootropics, patient self-experimentation with nootropics that have been found safe and effective in placebo-controlled studies in healthy humans is a proven strategy to feel and perform better with the help of nootropics.

Studies

Studies conducted on the effects of Chlorogenic Acid in healthy humans

Last updated Saturday, June 10, 2023

Chlorogenic Acid

Benefits

How can you get maximum cognitive benefits from chlorogenic acid?

More specifically, what are the cognitive benefits of using chlorogenic acid?

Risks

Side effects

Interactions

Legality

Legality Disclaimer

How To Use

FAQ

What's the difference between chlorogenic acid and chlorogenic acids?

How can I consume more chlorogenic acid?

Is chlorogenic acid neuroprotective?

How does chlorogenic acid work to improve mood and cognitive performance?

Who should use Chlorogenic Acid?

Studies

A Randomised Placebo-Controlled Trial to Differentiate the Acute Cognitive and Mood Effects of Chlorogenic Acid from Decaffeinated Coffee

Summary

Study groups

Adults using 530 Milligram