What ConsumerLab test reports list the brands of galantamine and phosphatidylserine products that failed, and what were the measured ingredient amounts?
Executive summary
ConsumerLab’s publicly available reporting shows that its phosphatidylserine (PS) tests identified at least one widely‑sold PS product that contained only about 10% of the labeled phosphatidylserine and that findings from ConsumerLab prompted a voluntary recall of certain NOW (and Protocol for Life Balance) 300 mg PS softgel lots after the company confirmed the products contained significantly less PS than claimed [1] [2]. ConsumerLab also reported widespread problems with galantamine products purchased on Amazon, saying most did not contain anywhere near their labeled amounts, but the publicly available summaries do not provide full brand-by-brand measured amounts for galantamine [3] [4].
1. The tests ConsumerLab ran and the brands it inspected
ConsumerLab published a phosphatidylserine review and methods page describing analytical thresholds (requiring products to contain at least 100% and no more than 125% of labeled phosphatidylserine) and listed that it tested seven PS products by brand, including Doctor’s Best, Jarrow, Life Extension, NOW, Nutricost, Puritan’s Pride, and Swanson, with GNC additionally approved through its voluntary Quality Certification Program [5] [6]. The Review and related updates note that ConsumerLab’s investigation specifically examined PS content and cost per 100 mg across those products and that one tested product contained far less than claimed, triggering follow‑up actions [6] [1].
2. Phosphatidylserine failures: which brands and the measured shortfalls
ConsumerLab’s public summary repeatedly states that one popular phosphatidylserine product contained only about 10% of its claimed phosphatidylserine, and that this finding was linked to a recall; ConsumerLab’s reporting names NOW Phosphatidyl Serine Extra Strength 300 mg (and Protocol For Life Balance’s equivalent) as being voluntarily recalled after a company investigation confirmed some lots contained significantly less PS than labeled — ConsumerLab’s January 2023 review prompted the company investigation and subsequent recall [1] [2]. ConsumerLab’s cost analysis also shows the anomalous product had an extremely high cost per 100 mg because it lacked the expected amount of PS (cost > $4.00 per 100 mg versus typical 16–61 cents), which is consistent with a product containing only a fraction of its labeled ingredient [6]. The public summaries, however, stop short of publishing full lab certificates or a table of exact measured milligram amounts for each failed lot in the free excerpts [7].
3. Galantamine failures: pattern reported but measured amounts not disclosed publicly
ConsumerLab’s coverage of memory supplements states that “most galantamine ‘memory’ products purchased on Amazon did not contain anywhere near the amounts listed on labels,” and that recent tests showed widespread shortfalls among galantamine products sold online [3] [4]. The reporting frames this as a pervasive quality problem rather than a single‑brand recall, but the publicly available ConsumerLab pages and headlines quoted in the provided material do not list brand names paired with quantitative measured milligram results for the galantamine products in those summaries [3] [4]. Therefore, while the pattern of failure is clear in ConsumerLab’s public statements, the exact measured amounts by brand for galantamine are not available in the provided excerpts [3] [4].
4. What the evidence does—and does not—allow one to conclude
The record from ConsumerLab establishes that a PS product was tested and found to contain roughly 10% of its labeled PS and that NOW/Protocol for Life Balance issued voluntary recalls for certain 300 mg PS lots after confirming significant under‑label content following ConsumerLab’s reporting [1] [2]. It also establishes a broader pattern of substandard galantamine products sold on Amazon [3] [4]. What the provided sources do not include are the full laboratory data tables or Certificates of Analysis showing measured milligram amounts per tested lot for every failed brand (ConsumerLab notes full reports and detail may be in members‑only content) and thus precise per‑brand numeric results beyond the 10% example and the NOW recall narrative cannot be extracted from the available excerpts [7] [1].
5. Practical takeaway and disclosure of limits in reporting
ConsumerLab’s public reporting provides clear, actionable signals: consumers and retailers should treat some PS and many galantamine supplements sold online with suspicion and heed product recalls such as the NOW/Protocol for Life Balance PS recall that followed ConsumerLab’s findings [2] [1], but anyone seeking the exact measured milligram amounts by brand and lot will need to consult ConsumerLab’s full reports or Certificates of Analysis (which ConsumerLab indicates are part of its paid/members‑only materials) because the public summaries supplied here do not publish complete lab tables for every tested product [7].