Label literacy
Proprietary Blends: What the Label Shows and What It Hides
A proprietary blend lists several ingredients under one total weight, heaviest first, without single amounts. You learn what is inside and the order, but not how much of each. Nerve Savior puts all 11 active ingredients in one 600 mg blend, including vitamins B6 and B12, so the label cannot be compared with research doses.
Written by the Nerve Savior editorial teamUpdated · 8 min read
The basics
What is a proprietary blend on a supplement label?
A proprietary blend is a group of ingredients sold under one name and one total weight. The label lists the names, but not how much of each one is inside.
Blends are common in sports powders, sleep aids and "nerve" or "brain" formulas.
The blend tells you three things: the total weight, which ingredients are in it, and their order by weight. Everything else stays private. That includes the dose of each ingredient, the ratio between them and the strength of any extract.
The rules
What does FDA require on a proprietary blend label?
FDA's labeling guide asks for three things. The blend must have a name, its total weight must sit on the same line, and its ingredients must be listed from heaviest to lightest (FDA, Dietary Supplement Labeling Guide).
There is an important limit. Ingredients that have a Daily Value, such as vitamins, are supposed to be listed separately with their own weights (FDA, Dietary Supplement Labeling Guide). A vitamin should not hide inside a blend.
- Blend name and total weight: required
- Ingredients in order by weight: required
- Vitamins and minerals with a Daily Value: listed on their own, with amounts
- Single amounts for herbs and other blend ingredients: not required
The FTC adds a point about claims. Results for a single ingredient, or for a different extract, may not support a claim about a finished product, and a study of the actual product may be needed (FTC, Health Products Compliance Guidance, 2022).
A real example
What does the Nerve Savior blend show?
Tap each number to see what that line of the Supplement Facts does and does not tell you.
- Serving size
2 capsules per serving, 30 servings per container. One bottle of 60 capsules lasts 30 days.
- One 600 mg blend
Every active ingredient sits inside one 600 mg proprietary blend, so no single amount is printed.
- Listed heaviest first
Blend ingredients are listed by weight, heaviest first. Himalayan pink salt is the largest share.
- Choline
AGP choline (alpha-GPC) is third: at most 200 mg by its place in the list.
- Memory herb
Bacopa monnieri (20%) is a memory herb. No trial has tested it for nerve symptoms.
- Eye ingredients
Lutein (5%) and bilberry leaf are eye ingredients, not nerve ingredients.
- Vitamin B6
B6 is seventh, with no amount. Too much B6 over time can itself cause nerve damage.
- Vitamin B12
B12 is ninth, as a 1% mix: at most about 667 mcg. B12 helps nerves when you are low.
- Green tea extract
Last and smallest. Extract pills are a rare but known cause of liver injury.
- Inactive ingredients
Rice flour, magnesium stearate and silica (printed as "silica dioxide") fill and flow the capsules.
- Distributor
Syvor LLC, Salisbury, NC 28146. The manufacturer and its facility are not named.
Nerve Savior lists Himalayan pink salt first and green tea extract last, with nine ingredients between them. Two are vitamins, B6 and B12, and neither has a weight. That appears inconsistent with FDA guidance. The full transcription is on the Nerve Savior Supplement Facts page.
Simple math
How can you estimate amounts in a proprietary blend?
The order of the list sets a ceiling. The ingredient in place k can weigh at most the total divided by k.
| Place | Ingredient | Most it could weigh | Reference amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Himalayan pink salt | At least about 55 mg | Not published |
| 2 | Cinnamon extract | 300 mg | Not published |
| 3 | AGP choline | 200 mg | Choline Adequate Intake 425 to 550 mg from all sources |
| 4 | Bacopa (20%) | 150 mg | Not published |
| 5 | Lutein (5%) | 120 mg of material, about 6 mg lutein | 10 mg in the AREDS2 eye formula |
| 6 | Bilberry leaf powder | 100 mg | Not published |
| 7 | Vitamin B6 | About 86 mg | 1.3 to 1.7 mg daily need; 100 mg US upper limit |
| 8 | Ginkgo powder | 75 mg | Not published |
| 9 | Vitamin B12 (1%) | About 67 mg of material, about 667 mcg B12 | 2.4 mcg daily need |
| 10 | Zeaxanthin (5%) | 60 mg of material, 3 mg zeaxanthin | 2 mg in the AREDS2 eye formula |
| 11 | Green tea extract (50%) | About 55 mg | Not published |
The ceilings add up to far more than 600 mg, so most ingredients must sit well below them. Pink salt, in first place, has to be at least one eleventh of the blend. The rest could be tiny.
The gaps
What can a proprietary blend hide from you?
Four things a buyer cannot learn from the Nerve Savior label alone.
The dose
You cannot compare an ingredient with the amount used in research, because no amount is given.
The vitamin count
B6 has an upper limit and too much can harm nerves (NIH ODS, Vitamin B6). Without a number, you cannot add it to your other products.
The percentages
"Bacopa Monnieri (20%)" likely refers to a standardized extract, but the label does not say 20% of what.
The species
"Cinnamon Extract" names no species. Cassia cinnamon contains coumarin, and liver interactions have been reported (NCCIH, Cinnamon).
The B6 gap matters most for nerves. It is covered in depth in vitamin B6 and your nerves.
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Is a proprietary blend a red flag?
Not by itself. A blend is allowed, and it still tells you more than a bottle with no panel at all. The usual reason given is protecting a formula from copycats. The Nerve Savior label does not say why it uses one.
What the Nerve Savior label gives you
- All 11 active ingredients by name
- Their order by weight
- The total: 600 mg per 2 capsules
- Inactive ingredients and the distributor, Syvor LLC
What it leaves out
- Any single amount, including B6 and B12
- What the 20%, 5%, 1% and 50% figures refer to
- The cinnamon species
- The manufacturer and any named testing lab
Before you buy
What should you ask the seller about a blend?
The vitamin amounts
Ask for the milligrams of B6 and the micrograms of B12 per 2 capsules.
The extract details
Ask what each percentage measures and which cinnamon species is used.
The test report
Ask for a certificate of analysis that matches your lot, from a named lab.
Checklist
How do you read any proprietary blend label?
- Find the blend line and its total weight.
- Count the ingredients and divide the total by each one's place to get its ceiling.
- Look for vitamins or minerals inside the blend. They should have their own amounts.
- Compare the ceilings with the doses used in studies you trust.
- Check whether the claims rest on a study of the product or only of single ingredients (FTC, Health Products Compliance Guidance, 2022).
For Nerve Savior's ingredients one by one, see the ingredient guide, and for the buying question, is Nerve Savior legit?
FAQ
Proprietary blend questions
What is a proprietary blend in a nerve supplement?
It means several ingredients are grouped under one name and one total weight, without single amounts. The label must list the ingredients from heaviest to lightest, so you know the order. You do not learn how much of each ingredient you get, which makes comparing the product with research doses impossible.
Are proprietary blends legal?
Yes, FDA allows proprietary blends if the label names the blend, gives its total weight and lists ingredients by weight. FDA guidance also says vitamins and minerals with a Daily Value should be listed separately with their amounts. A vitamin with no amount inside a blend appears inconsistent with that guidance.
How do you calculate amounts in a proprietary blend?
Divide the blend's total weight by each ingredient's place in the list. That gives the most it could weigh, because every ingredient above it must weigh at least as much. In Nerve Savior's 600 mg blend, the seventh ingredient, vitamin B6, can be at most about 86 mg.
Why do supplement companies use proprietary blends?
The reason usually given is protecting a formula from being copied. The trade-off is that buyers cannot check doses. The Nerve Savior label does not explain its choice. If amounts matter to you, ask the seller for them before you buy, and keep the reply.
What do the percentages on the Nerve Savior label mean?
Figures such as Bacopa Monnieri (20%), Lutein (5%) and Green Tea Extract (50%) most likely describe the strength of each raw material. The label does not say what each percentage measures. For B12 at 1%, it suggests the vitamin makes up a small share of that ingredient's weight.
Is a proprietary blend a sign of a bad supplement?
Not on its own. Many products use blends, and the label still has to list every ingredient in weight order. The concern is narrower: you cannot check doses, and vitamins hidden inside a blend cannot be counted. Weigh that gap together with the evidence for the ingredients.
Who wrote this
Written and reviewed by
Plain-language pages built from the label, the sales listing and linked public health sources.
Last updated . Read our editorial standards and how we check reviews. This website is run by Thenervesavior, a U.S. stocking partner, not by the manufacturer or the distributor named on the label. We earn money when you buy through our order links.
Keep reading
More about Nerve Savior
Supplement Facts
The Supplement Facts panel typed out word for word, with tap-to-read notes and the most each ingredient could weigh.
Read moreIngredients
All 11 Nerve Savior ingredients in label order, what each was studied for, and the most each could weigh.
Read moreVitamin B6 and nerves
Why too much B6 can harm nerves, the limits in three countries, and how to count your own daily total.
Read moreU.S. stocking partner for Nerve Savior
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