Geranium vs DMAA (1,3-dimethylamylamine) what is the difference?
I thought it would be useful for members here if I put some information up about the differences between Geranium and DMAA. At Bulk Nutrients we sell masses of both and there seems to be quite a bit of misinformation out there about the two.
For those unaware dmaa (or geranium) is the active ingredient found in many pre workout products these days. In fact, you could say that this compound alone has been responsible for such a rampant rise in pre workout products sales.
If you are buying a pre workout supp (particularly one made in the U.S) it is likely that it contains dmaa as an active ingredient.
Due to the expense of dmaa it is usually combined with caffeine, however the benefit is that these two really do complement each other, as they have slightly different properties.
1,3-dimethylamylamine (dmaa) works by mimicking norepinephrine in the body. This means that it acts in a very similar way to caffeine with users feeling a boost in energy and focus. The largest benefit to dmaa is that due its different action, it seems to bring about most of the positives effects of caffeine without the negative side effects.
Funnily enough, it was originally developed as a nasal decongestant, until people obviously realised the stimulant qualities meant it had many other uses.
So, what about geranium?
Geranium Extract (which is extracted from the geranium plant) is where dmaa occurs naturally. Just like the tribulus plant has test boosting qualities, parts of the geranium plant have stimulant qualities – as it contains dmaa.
By refining the plant (which is done by using solvents to extract the active ingredient), producers can come up with a product, which is highly concentrated in dmaa. We commonly refer to this as gernaium extract.
One issues with extracts is that they come in a variety of strengths (depending on how they have been extracted, amount of solvents and so on) and to make matters worse, the part of the plant which is used, the time in which it is harvested and so on, all can affect the actually quantity of the active ingredient. Due to this, it is VERY difficult to determine the extract strength of compound, unless an analysis is done each time.
Typically though, 200-1 geranium extract is said to contain about 15 – 20% geranium which would mean 100 – 150mg is required to get 25mg (which is considered an active dose) of dmaa.
Given these inconsistencies it is no surprise that pure dmaa has become more popular as it has become available. Though it is more expensive dose per dose, synthetic dmaa does mean you can be much more certain about dosage, you are dealing with a pure powder made in a laboratory.
The problems here started when resellers started interchanging the names. I have spoke to a few people who have wondered why our geranium extract is brown not pure white. Of course, being a plant extract it will always be a brown/green colour (and likely smell like geranium flowers!) however if people have previously bought a pure white powder that was labelled as dmaa, they become very confused.
Geranium extract should always look like a typical plant extract (brown/green and smelly) where as pure dmaa should always be an off white powder which has tendencies to clump.
In terms of which is better. Well, the only real benefit of geranium is that it is the “natural” product. While it is debatable how natural a plant refined with solvents is, this does give some people peace of mine. As geranium isn’t pure dmaa it does make dosing a little easier as 100 – 150mg is quite a bit easier to measure than 25mg (which is a typical pure dmaa serve)
Pure DMAA is therefore the better choice for most people, but if you do purchase it be very careful with dosing as 25mg (1/40th of a gram) is a very small dose, one that requires very sensitive scales.
I thought it would be useful for members here if I put some information up about the differences between Geranium and DMAA. At Bulk Nutrients we sell masses of both and there seems to be quite a bit of misinformation out there about the two.
For those unaware dmaa (or geranium) is the active ingredient found in many pre workout products these days. In fact, you could say that this compound alone has been responsible for such a rampant rise in pre workout products sales.
If you are buying a pre workout supp (particularly one made in the U.S) it is likely that it contains dmaa as an active ingredient.
Due to the expense of dmaa it is usually combined with caffeine, however the benefit is that these two really do complement each other, as they have slightly different properties.
1,3-dimethylamylamine (dmaa) works by mimicking norepinephrine in the body. This means that it acts in a very similar way to caffeine with users feeling a boost in energy and focus. The largest benefit to dmaa is that due its different action, it seems to bring about most of the positives effects of caffeine without the negative side effects.
Funnily enough, it was originally developed as a nasal decongestant, until people obviously realised the stimulant qualities meant it had many other uses.
So, what about geranium?
Geranium Extract (which is extracted from the geranium plant) is where dmaa occurs naturally. Just like the tribulus plant has test boosting qualities, parts of the geranium plant have stimulant qualities – as it contains dmaa.
By refining the plant (which is done by using solvents to extract the active ingredient), producers can come up with a product, which is highly concentrated in dmaa. We commonly refer to this as gernaium extract.
One issues with extracts is that they come in a variety of strengths (depending on how they have been extracted, amount of solvents and so on) and to make matters worse, the part of the plant which is used, the time in which it is harvested and so on, all can affect the actually quantity of the active ingredient. Due to this, it is VERY difficult to determine the extract strength of compound, unless an analysis is done each time.
Typically though, 200-1 geranium extract is said to contain about 15 – 20% geranium which would mean 100 – 150mg is required to get 25mg (which is considered an active dose) of dmaa.
Given these inconsistencies it is no surprise that pure dmaa has become more popular as it has become available. Though it is more expensive dose per dose, synthetic dmaa does mean you can be much more certain about dosage, you are dealing with a pure powder made in a laboratory.
The problems here started when resellers started interchanging the names. I have spoke to a few people who have wondered why our geranium extract is brown not pure white. Of course, being a plant extract it will always be a brown/green colour (and likely smell like geranium flowers!) however if people have previously bought a pure white powder that was labelled as dmaa, they become very confused.
Geranium extract should always look like a typical plant extract (brown/green and smelly) where as pure dmaa should always be an off white powder which has tendencies to clump.
In terms of which is better. Well, the only real benefit of geranium is that it is the “natural” product. While it is debatable how natural a plant refined with solvents is, this does give some people peace of mine. As geranium isn’t pure dmaa it does make dosing a little easier as 100 – 150mg is quite a bit easier to measure than 25mg (which is a typical pure dmaa serve)
Pure DMAA is therefore the better choice for most people, but if you do purchase it be very careful with dosing as 25mg (1/40th of a gram) is a very small dose, one that requires very sensitive scales.
