Suntheanine®

Suntheanine® is a high-quality, research-backed brand of theanine shown to improve relaxation, attention, and provide other benefits.

Suntheanine is a patented brand of popular nootropic ingredient L-theanine. This amino acid is best known for promoting relaxation and improving focus. In this Suntheanine review, we will discuss its advantages over plain theanine supplements:

• Patented. Suntheanine is produced through an innovative process that utilizes enzymes from microorganisms, and its use for improving brain function, sleep, and other health issues is protected by over 40 patents.
• Clinically Researched. Suntheanine has been the subject of over 100 studies, proving its efficacy and safety.
• Established. Suntheanine is one of the most trusted supplement ingredients with over 20 years of use and research.

Overview

Suntheanine is a patented form of pure L-theanine produced by Japanese biotech company Taiyo Kagaku. L-theanine is an amino acid naturally present in tea leaves known for consistently reducing anxiety & stress and improving focus. Coupled with its lack of drowsiness and other side effects, this has made theanine one of the most popular supplement ingredients in the world; it is consumed daily by billions of people in the form of tea, supplements, and functional foods and beverages.

Suntheanine stands out from generic L-theanine products because it is made through a patented fermentation process rather than being extracted from tea leaves. In addition, it is protected by more than 40 patents and backed by over two decades of animal and human research confirming its safety and efficacy.

Much like basic theanine, Suntheanine has a wide range of benefits and applications, including:

• Reducing anxiety and stress
• Enhancing sleep
• Improving attention, learning, and creativity
• Supporting immune system function
• Reducing the side effects of caffeine
• Improving premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

How does Suntheanine work?

L-theanine, and by extension Suntheanine works by inducing several chemical changes in the brain. Most notably, theanine:

• Promotes alpha brain wave activity, which is associated with calmness, focus, and creativity
• Enhances the activity of calming, anxiety-reducing neurotransmitters such as GABA, serotonin, and dopamine
• Reduces the activity “excitatory” neurotransmitters associated with stress and tension, such as glutamine, which may also protect brain cells from damage

Suntheanine Patents

Suntheanine is protected over 40 international and U.S. patents for its production process and multitude of uses. Some of the most prominent of these include:

Suntheanine preparation

This patent describes the innovative production method of Suntheanine (US patent 8211674). Conventionally, theanine is extracted directly from dry tea leaves. However, this method has two key downsides:

1. Tea leaves contain only about 1.5% theanine
2. Photosynthesis in tea leaves slowly converts theanine into catechins

Because of this, it’s rather expensive and cumbersome to get theanine from tea leaves. To solve this problem, scientists instead produce the enzyme glutaminase from bacteria, mold, or yeast, and apply it to the amino acid glutamine alongside other compounds to produce theanine. This allows for the production of theanine on an industrial scale.

Improving concentration

This patent describes the use of Suntheanine for improving mental focus and concentration. According to the patent, it works mainly through reducing beta brain waves, which are associated with tension and anxiety (US patent 9724318).

Promoting sleep

The use of Suntheanine-containing foods and supplements for promoting sleep is protected by US patent 8293269.

Smoking cessation

This patent describes the use of Suntheanine for helping people get over smoking cravings and ultimately quit smoking (US patent 7094787).

Improving behavior in pets

Given Suntheanine’s efficacy for lowering anxiety and stress and other cognitive issues in humans, it’s not surprising that it can also be used to help with similar issues in pets. This patent describes the use of Suntheanine in combination with choline or fatty acids or for treating behavior problems such as excessive barking, scratching, and aggression in cats and dogs (US patent 6297280).

Women’s health

This patent covers the use of Suntheanine for improving various symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), such as fatigue, pain, acne, abdominal pain, and anger (US patent 6831103).

Suntheanine Nutritional Supplement Uses

Suntheanine is most commonly sold in standalone L-theanine supplements, and less commonly in multi-ingredient products. It is most commonly found in:

Nootropic Supplements

L-Theanine is one of the popular ingredients in brain-supporting supplements. Indeed, decades of research have shown that both generic theanine and Suntheanine improve attention, promote relaxation, and reduce anxiety and stress without causing any drowsiness. The reliability and consistency of these benefits have made theanine the most widely-consumed nootropic compound in the world alongside caffeine, and the two are often taken together in tea or a nootropic stack.

In addition to these effects, theanine also appears to support creativity, learning, and memory, and protect the brain from age-related cognitive decline and neurodegenrative disorders such as Alzheimer’s. Finally, there is also some early evidence that it may even improve depression.

Read more: L-theanine as a nootropic

Anti-Stress Supplements

Suntheanine has been shown to reliably reduce anxiety and stress, with particular efficacy in people who are prone to these everyday concerns. In addition to this, Suntheanine also helps lower blood pressure – one of the most common symptoms of stress.

Read more: L-theanine for stress

Sleep Aids

Multiple studies have shown that Suntheanine makes it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep, enhancing the overall quality of sleep. In addition, it lacks the sedation often experienced with pharmaceutical sleep products. This has made theanine one of the most popular natural sleep aids.

Read more: L-theanine for sleep

Weight Loss Supplements

Given the popularity of green tea as a weight loss aid, it’s not surprising that some experts have implicated L-theanine as one of the compounds responsible. Indeed, there’s a good case to be made for L-theanine indirectly supporting weight loss efforts by enhancing sleep and reducing stress.

As for more direct effects, the science is still somewhat mixed, but there is some evidence that theanine reduces fat gain in animals.

Read more: L-theanine for fat loss

Immune System Supplements

Suntheanine has the potential to be used in immunity-boosting supplements because it has been demonstrated to support the immune system in combination with other compounds. In particular, two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies found that:

• Suntheanine plus another amino acid (cysteine) improved immune function and helped prevent infection in athletes undergoing intense training ²
• Suntheanine plus green tea catechins (the second major active ingredient in green tea after theanine) helped ward off cold & flu symptoms ³

Other Uses

In addition to the above, Suntheanine has the potential to be used for more specific concerns, such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS), the side effects of caffeine,  elevated blood cholesterol levels, and even quitting smoking.

Suntheanine Research

Human Research

With decades of research and hundreds of studies, Suntheanine is one of the most researched supplement ingredients. The results of this research indicate that Suntheanine reduces stress and anxiety, helps promote relaxation, enhances attention, makes it easier to sleep, and has many other benefits such as easing the symptoms of PMS.

Suntheanine (50 mg) appears to promote alertness and relaxation

In this double-blind study, researchers gave 35 people either 50 mg of Suntheanine or placebo and administered EEG tests (which measure the brain’s electrical activity) before and after supplementation. They found that the theanine group experienced a significant boost in alpha brainwaves, which are associated with relaxation and attention.

• The researchers concluded that “L-Theanine, at realistic dietary levels, has a significant effect on the general state of mental alertness or arousal.”⁴

Suntheanine (200 mg) may improve attention and reaction time in people prone to anxiety

In this placebo-controlled, double-blind study, 18 university students were first divided into two groups based on whether they were naturally inclined be anxious. They were then given either a placebo or Suntheanine (200 mg) and asked to perform a visual attention task and an audio response test. The results showed that only individuals in the high-anxiety group had significantly enhanced alpha band activity, reduced heart rate, and improved attention and reaction time response compared to placebo.

• The study concluded that “l-theanine clearly has a pronounced effect on attention performance and reaction time response in normal healthy subjects prone to have high anxiety.”⁵

Suntheanine (200 mg) may reduce anxiety and blood pressure in stressed adults

In this crossover, randomized, placebo-controlled investigation, 14 healthy adults were given placebo, Suntheanine (200 mg), or caffeine (100 mg) every day for 1 week and asked to complete a stressful task. L-theanine significantly limited blood pressure elevation in participants whose blood pressure increased by more than average after performing a mental task. Moreover, according to the Profile of Mood States (POMS) scores, L-theanine reduced tension & anxiety scores compared to placebo.

• The study concluded that “L-theanine not only reduces anxiety but also attenuates the blood-pressure increase in high-stress-response adults.”⁶

Suntheanine (200 mg) may improve sleep quality

This randomized, double-blind, crossover study tested the efficacy of Suntheanine as a sleep aid. Twenty healthy men were given placebo or Suntheanine (200 mg) tablets 1 hour before bed for 3 days, and were assessed by questionnaire and other methods. A similar trial was then repeated with 20 older women (average age of 57).

The theanine was found to improve sleep on all five aspects of the questionnaire, and also improved sleep and dream quality, good mood and self-confidence, the feeling of recovery, and the feeling of being refreshed upon waking up.

• The researchers concluded that “L-theanine can be considered an excellent aid for improving the sleep state.“⁷

Suntheanine (200 mg) may reduce psychological and physiological stress

In this double-blind, placebo-controlled investigation, 12 adults performed a mental arithmetic task as a way to simulate a stressful situation. They were given one of 4 treatments: 200 mg of Suntheanine at the start of the task, 200 mg halfway through, a placebo, or nothing. Relative to placebo groups, both Suntheanine groups had reduced heart rate and salivary immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) responses to the task, suggesting reduction of stress.

• The study concluded that “the oral intake of L-Theanine could cause anti-stress effects via the inhibition of cortical neuron excitation.”⁸

Suntheanine (200 mg) may improve symptoms of PMS

This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study examined the efficacy of Suntheanine for reducing symptoms of premenstual syndrome (PMS). A total of 42 women were given placebo or Suntheanine (200 mg) daily for 12 weeks. The treatment improved symptoms of irritability, anger, mood swings, and crying.

• The researchers concluded that “…efficacy of the L-theanine to help reduce symptoms of premenstrual syndrome is suggested based on this clinical trial.” ⁹

Suntheanine (200-400 mg) may make it easier to focus by helping filter out unwanted stimuli

This study examined the effects of Suntheanine (0-600 mg) on sensorimotor gating – the brain’s ability to filter out unnecessary stimuli from the outside. Fourteen adults underwent testing of sensorimotor gating 90 minutes after taking 9, 200, 400, or 600 mg of Suntheanine. The 200 and 400 mg doses improved test performance.

• The researchers concluded that “The observed effect with 200-400 mg of l-theanine on PPI suggested that l-theanine at a particular dose range increases sensorimotor gating in humans.” ¹⁰

Suntheanine Dosage

• Standalone supplements usually come in 100-200 mg capsules
• Complex supplements typically include smaller theanine doses of 50-100 mg
• Human studies have used doses ranging from 50 to 600 mg, with 200 mg being the most common
• Generally speaking, it’s best to start with 50-100 mg and gradually increase until you get the desired effect