How to Choose Quality Nootropics: Evaluating Purity, Safety, and Certificates of Analysis (CoAs)

Nootropics have moved from a niche interest to a global market, with products promising better focus, memory, mood, and brain health. But behind polished labels and marketing claims, product quality can vary dramatically. Independent analyses have repeatedly shown that some dietary supplements are mislabelled, adulterated, or contaminated, compromising both safety and efficacy (Geller et al., 2015; Tucker et al., 2018; White, 2022).

For consumers and practitioners working with nootropics, learning how to evaluate product quality is essential. This article explores how to assess purity, manufacturing standards, and Certificates of Analysis (CoAs) so you can choose nootropic products more confidently and responsibly.

Dietary supplements, including nootropics, are widely perceived as “natural” and therefore safe. However, surveillance data suggest a more complex picture. A national analysis estimated that in the period from 2001 to 2013, about 23,000 emergency department visits per year in the United States were related to adverse events from dietary supplements, with weight-loss and energy products particularly implicated (Geller et al., 2015).

Quality issues include:

For nootropics—often taken daily and sometimes in stacks—these risks are especially important. The goal is cognitive enhancement, not accidental exposure to unlabeled drugs or contaminants.

In the United States, dietary supplements are regulated under a different framework than prescription drugs. Manufacturers must follow current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) to ensure the identity, purity, strength, and composition of supplements. These requirements for dietary supplements are set out in 21 CFR Part 111 (FDA, 21 CFR Part 111; FDA, DS cGMP Guide).

Key aspects of proper manufacturing include:

Some reputable brands go beyond regulatory minimums by using third-party testing and publishing their results. Programs such as USP Verified, NSF, or Informed Choice/Informed Sport indicate additional quality checks, though not all nootropic ingredients fall under these schemes, as they are more often applied to such products as sports nutrition or vitamins.

For brain-health products, a strong quality signal is a brand that:

A Certificate of Analysis (CoA) is a formal document provided by a manufacturer or third-party laboratory that reports test results for a specific batch (lot) of a product or raw material. Regulatory and industry guidance documents emphasize that CoAs should be used as a critical control tool in dietary supplement manufacturing to ensure that ingredients meet established specifications for identity, strength, quality, and purity (CHPA/FDA CoA Guideline; FDA CoA Guidance Attachment).

For nootropics, a robust CoA helps answer three core questions:

When evaluating a nootropic CoA, several elements are particularly important:

The CoA should clearly list:

This enables traceability and ensures the CoA matches the product you have in hand.

Look for an assay or content test, often expressed as a percentage or mg/g. For example, a citicoline raw material might be specified as ≥ 98% purity. Results should:

Underdosing or overdosing can both be problematic. Subpotent products may not deliver cognitive benefits; superpotent or mislabeled compounds increase the risk of adverse effects.

Quality CoAs include identity testing to confirm the compound is what it claims to be. Common methods include:

Identity testing helps reduce the risk of substitution, such as swapping one plant species for another or misidentifying a synthetic compound.

Heavy metal contamination in herbal medicines and dietary supplements is a documented global issue, with reports of lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury exceeding safety limits in a notable share of tested products in specific studies (Luo et al., 2021; Harris et al., 2011; Kalumbi et al., 2020).

On a CoA, look for testing and limits (often in ppm or mg/kg) for:

Microbiological tests should typically include:

Results should meet accepted pharmacopeial or regulatory limits.

For certain extracts or synthetic nootropics, CoAs may list:

Absence or “below detection limit” values, within regulatory thresholds, indicate better control over the manufacturing process.

Ideally, CoAs are issued by independent third-party laboratories, not only by in-house quality control. If the lab is accredited (e.g., ISO/IEC 17025), this further increases confidence in the reliability of test results.

One of the most serious quality issues in the supplement market is adulteration with undeclared pharmaceutical drugs. Analyses of the FDA’s Tainted Supplements Database showed that from 2007 to 2021, over a thousand unique dietary products were found to contain active drugs such as sildenafil, sibutramine, or anabolic steroids, often without disclosure on the label (Tucker et al., 2018; White, 2022).

For nootropics, red flags that warrant extra caution include:

In such cases, a high-quality, transparent brand with verifiable testing is strongly preferable.

When evaluating a nootropic, consider the following questions:

Selecting products that pass these checks reduces risk and increases the likelihood that what you are taking is both effective and safe.

Choosing high-quality nootropic products requires more than reading front-label promises. It involves understanding how supplements are manufactured, how they can be adulterated or contaminated, and how Certificates of Analysis can provide transparency about what is actually in the bottle.

Evidence from global investigations shows that some dietary supplements are mislabelled or adulterated with active drugs and can contain unacceptable levels of heavy metals or other contaminants (Ichim, 2019; Luo et al., 2021; Geller et al., 2015; Tucker et al., 2018; White, 2022). At the same time, robust regulatory frameworks such as cGMP (21 CFR Part 111) and industry CoA guidelines provide a path for responsible manufacturers to demonstrate quality and for informed consumers to make safer choices (FDA, 21 CFR Part 111; FDA DS cGMP Guide; CHPA/FDA CoA Guideline).

For practitioners and users of nootropics, the goal is not only to enhance cognition but to do so ethically, safely, and sustainably. Learning to read CoAs, recognize trustworthy brands, and interpret research-backed claims is a crucial part of that process. With a quality-first mindset, nootropics can be integrated more confidently into broader strategies for cognitive health and performance. Read more about implementing nootropics in your routine in our article about safe nootropic stacking.

by Dr. Ilka Tamar Candelario ⎢ Wellness Synergy