Energy
Naringin
Naringin is a grapefruit flavonoid that did not improve caffeine handling or calorie burn in a small human study.
How it counts: Not part of the score
We show it on the label and count it as disclosed, but it never affects Dose, any sub-score or the grade. The basis below explains why.
- Clinical dose
- No established clinical dose
- Safety ceiling
- —
- Evidence
- weak
- Category
- Energy
Evidence summary
Research confidence: low
No reference dose. Naringin is the bitter flavonoid in grapefruit, often added to pre-workouts with the claim that it makes caffeine last longer. In a double-blind study in 10 adults, 100 mg or 200 mg naringin taken with 200 mg caffeine did not change how the body handled caffeine and did not increase calorie burn; if anything, caffeine's small rise in calorie burn was smaller with naringin (Ballard 2006). Other human work used 400 mg a day for weeks to lower cholesterol; the 25 mg in pre-workouts is far below any studied dose.
Research sources
- Naringin does not alter caffeine pharmacokinetics, energy expenditure, or cardiovascular haemodynamics in humans following caffeine consumption (Ballard et al., Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol 2006)(opens in new window)
- Naringin supplementation lowers plasma lipids and enhances erythrocyte antioxidant enzyme activities in hypercholesterolemic subjects (Jung et al., Clin Nutr 2003)(opens in new window)
400 mg/day for 8 weeks lowered total and LDL cholesterol 14% and 17% in 30 people with high cholesterol, with no effect in 30 healthy controls; uncontrolled, no placebo group.
- Endothelial and Cardiovascular Effects of Naringin: A Systematic Review (Adams et al., Nutrients 2025)(opens in new window)
Systematic review of 62 cell, animal and human studies on naringin's cardiovascular effects; the human evidence is limited and none of it concerns exercise.