You’ve had a heavy week of work, school or just life behind you and it's finally 5 pm on a Friday. What do you do? It’s highly likely that you are off to go have an alcoholic beverage. According to the NIAAA, 78.5% of Americans above the age of 12 have at least consumed one alcoholic beverage in their lifetime. This number drops when looking at past year alcohol consumption, but remains high at 62.8%! It drops a little lower still when looking at past month consumption, to 48.7%, but that’s still a lot and basically means there is a 1 in 2 chance that you are having at least one drink this month. So, it’s clearly no secret that we like to have a drink! However, when alcohol gets metabolized, we end up with acetaldehyde which can give us quite a bit of grief. So say you go to the bar with some colleagues on Friday night, have a few too many and then after your last drink you would ideally like to speed up the metabolism of acetaldehyde to clear it out of your system. Dihydromyrecetin does exactly this by increasing the activity of the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase which breaks down acetaldehyde to acetate and prevents some of that classic grief associated with having a few too many!*
That being said, dihydromyricetin is much more than a simple supplement for speeding up alcohol and acetaldehyde metabolism. It also helps increase the density of GABA-A receptors, boosts mood, increases BDNF levels, dampens neuroinflammation, promotes metabolic function, increases SIRT1 & SIRT3 activity and even helps support liver health!* This makes it a new favorite of ours as a daily supplement, outside of the context of alcohol consumption. It’s a very versatile compound and definitely worth keeping around for both daily supplementation and as needed after a couple of drinks!*
Dihydromyricetin is a flavonoid that is found in a variety of vine and tree species and is most notably found in a variety of vine species from the Ampelopsis genus. Due to this, dihydromyricetin is also sometimes referred to as ampelopsin. Another common name for dihydromyricetin is ‘Vine Tea Extract’. It earns this name because dihydromyricetin is most commonly extracted from Ampelopsis grossedentata, a vine whose leaves are often used for making tea with. The leaves are processed in a similar manner to Camelia sinensis (green tea, black tea, oolong etc.) and consumed as tea. This tea is commonly referred to as moyeam and has a long history of use in China, with dihydromyricetin being its main bioactive component.
We first started to experiment with dihydromyricetin a few years ago when we were developing alcohol defense. Dihydromyricetin pulls the majority of the weight in the alcohol defense formula because it increases the activity of two enzymes, alcohol dehydrogenase and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase.* When alcohol is consumed, alcohol dehydrogenase converts alcohol to acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is a bit of a nasty compound and can produce a plethora of unpleasant effects. Luckily, it doesn’t stick around for long because the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase (specifically, ALDH2) converts acetaldehyde to acetate, which is actually a beneficial compound! Thus, by increasing ALDH2 activity with dihydromyricetin, we are able to speed up acetaldehyde metabolism, which has a positive overall effect in the context of alcohol consumption.* At the time of alcohol defense formulating, we were hyper focused on the alcohol metabolism effects of dihydromyricetin, which completely made us miss how interesting of a compound this really is!*
We have lots of different aldehydes floating around in our body, and generally, aldehydes are very reactive so we want to get rid of them as efficiently as possible. We consume various aldehydes via our diet and generate them via carbohydrate metabolism too. We are also exposed to various aldehydes, including acetaldehyde, from combustion engine exhaust fumes. Additionally, it has been shown that acetaldehyde levels are up to 10 times higher in indoor spaces when compared to outdoor spaces (due to off-gassing furniture etc.). This means that we are clearly being exposed to quite a bit of aldehydes during our daily life. Luckily, most aldehydes are dealt with rapidly, but due to their deleterious effects, ensuring higher metabolism of aldehydes by increasing the activity of aldehyde dehydrogenase enzymes with dihydromyricetin could have some very positive outcomes. In fact, it appears that many of the positive effects of dihydromyricetin are related to enhancing ALDH2 function!* Long story short, this means dihydromyricetin can have some very positive effects outside of the context of alcohol consumption, which is one of the reasons we are now offering it as a standalone option, rather than as a part of our more comprehensive alcohol defense stack.
Dihydromyricetin also has some other interesting tricks up its sleeve. For example, it can elevate the levels of a protein called gephyrin.* Gephyrin is important for GABAA receptor density. Thus, by increasing gephyrin levels, dihydromyricetin could upregulate GABAA receptor density.* Additionally, dihydromyricetin appears to induce rapid mood elevating effects, which appear to be partially produced by its ability to increase brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels and its ability to dampen neuroinflammation.* Interestingly, dihydromyricetin is also a significant SIRT1 and SIRT 3 activator, thus producing some interesting longevity effects!* Furthermore, dihydromyricetin also produces liver supportive and metabolic enhancement effects.* Overall, it’s a very versatile flavonoid, and in our opinion, a worthy addition to advanced supplement stacks!*
Alcohol Metabolism Stack: Dihydromyricetin Capsules + WATER
If you want a more fleshed out stack specifically for alcohol metabolism, then go check out alcohol defense, which includes dihydromyricetin as the main driver of the effects. However, if you are looking for a simple way to help increase the efficacy of dihydromyricetin after a few drinks, then be sure to drink plenty of water with it (500-1,000 mL) and better yet, add an electrolyte to that water too!
GABAA receptor density Stack: Dihydromyricetin Capsules + Bacopa Monnieri 24% Tablets
Another favorite for enhancing GABAA receptor density is our Bacopa monnieri 24% bacosides extract. We find that it stacks very nicely with the mood elevating properties of dihydromyricetin too!*
Mood Stack: Dihydromyricetin Capsules + Polygala tenuifolia 20:1 Extract Capsules
We find that the mood boosting effects of dihydromyricetin go really well with the uplifting mood boost of Polygala tenuifolia, which similarly to dihydromyricetin, can also increase the levels of BDNF!*
Liver Support Stack: Dihydromyricetin Capsules + High Potency Milk Thistle Extract Capsules
One of our most popular liver support supplements is our high potency milk thistle, and we find that it stacks quite nicely with dihydromyricetin!*
As a dietary supplement, take one capsule of Dihydromyricetin daily.
To gain more insight, see the Dihydromyricetin Capsules reviews and experiences below.
Nootropics Depot offers 60ct. or 180ct. jars of high-quality Dihydromyricetin Capsules. Nootropics Depot’s Dihydromyricetin Capsules has been lab-tested and verified for both product purity and identity.
| *Attention: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. |
