Ep. 202 - The New Supplement Everyone Will Be Talking About: Paraxanthine

Mr. Benjamin Franklin Esgro has the unique honor of being our first guest in our episodes numbered in the 200’s, as well as being on for his fifth, or maybe sixth time? We aren’t sure, but we like to have the man on! I’m this episode, he’s once again crusading against potential charlatans in the supplement industry. If you remember last time, Ben joined us to discuss the lacking evidence of a mechanism of action behind turkesterone and today, he’s back to give us a dose of reality on paraxanthine. What is paraxanthine you might ask? Well if you haven’t already heard of it, it’s supposedly the next big thing in the stimulant, nootropic and pre workout world. But, while this supplement is interesting and may have specific utility, should we really expect something truly groundbreaking considering it’s a metabolite of caffeine? Join us as we ask Ben Esgro to find out.

00:00 Intro

5:41 (Re)introducing Ben to kickstart another monster episode 

19:24 An overview of paraxanthine

Lelo 1986 Comparative pharmacokinetics of caffeine and its primary demethylated metabolites paraxanthine, theobromine and theophylline in man https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3756065/ 

Benowitz 1995 Sympathomimetic effects of paraxanthine and caffeine in humans https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8529334/

34:59 Selling the acute supplement sensation and experience

48:20 Marketing paraxanthine and comparisons with caffeine

1:03:40 Paraxanthine toxicity and bioengineering explained

1:14:55 Chasing the mythical unicorn of replacing banned supplements

1:23:17 Creating demand and producing the same subjective experience as paraxanthine?

1:32:38 Potency and derivatives of compounds

1:38:40 Dosages and densities of powdered supplements

1:43:45 What to expect from a paraxanthine supplement

1:48:38 Closing out with a (metaphorical) mic drop: the positive impact of the evidence-based lifting community

Li 2022 Self-Reported Training and Supplementation Practices Between Performance-Enhancing Drug-User Bodybuilders Compared with Natural Bodybuilders https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36165879/