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. 2018 Aug 1;15:38. doi: 10.1186/s12970-018-0242-y

Table 3.

Summary of categorization of dietary supplements based on available literature

Category Muscle building supplements Performance enhancement
I. Strong Evidence to Support Efficacy and Apparently Safe • HMB
• Creatine monohydrate
• Essential amino acids (EAA)
• Protein
• β-alanine
• Caffeine
• Carbohydrate
• Creatine Monohydrate
• Sodium Bicarbonate
• Sodium Phosphate
• Water and Sports Drinks
II. Limited or Mixed Evidence to Support Efficacy • Adenosine-5′-Triphosphate (ATP)
• Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA)
• Phosphatidic acid
• L-Alanyl-L-Glutamate
• Arachidonic acid
• Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA)
• Citrulline
• Essential amino acids (EAA)
• Glycerol
• HMB
• Nitrates
• Post-exercise carbohydrate and protein
• Quercetin
• Taurine
III. Little to No Evidence to Support Efficacy and/or Safety • Agmatine sulfate
• Alpha-ketoglutarate
• Arginine
• Boron
• Chromium
• Conjugated linoleic acids (CLA)
• D-Aspartic acid
• Ecdysterones
• Fenugreek extract
• Gamma oryzanol (Ferulic acid)
• Glutamine
• Growth-hormone releasing peptides and Secretogogues
• Isoflavones
• Ornithine-alpha-ketoglutarate
• Prohomones
• Sulfo-polysaccharides
Tribulus terrestris
• Vanadyl sulfate
• Zinc-magnesium aspartate
• Arginine
• Carnitine
• Glutamine
• Inosine
• Medium-chain triglycerides (MCT)
• Ribose