Initial Artichoke Extract and Forskolin (“CILTEP”) Test Results

If you don’t know what this is, please read my post comparing Natural Stacks’ CILTEP® with Powder City’s Artichoke Extract and Forskolin stack. I haven’t tried Natural Stacks’ version, but the two products are fairly similar and based on the same blend, and in that post I briefly touch upon why you may want to select one or the other.

This post is for data related to my initial cognitive tests without the “CILTEP” —  or rather, Powder City’s more affordable Artichoke Extract and Forskolin stack. This time, I have juxtaposed my data with the test results while having taken the Artichoke + Forskolin stack.

Note that when I use “CILTEP” like this in quotes, I am not necessarily referring to the registered trademarked product by Natural Stacks. These tests are based only on the similar product by Powder City.

I post my data charts and averages, but I will say the results are still inconclusive as to whether “CILTEP” has any significant beneficial effects on cognition or memory.

Dual-2-Back

Using the free Brain Workshop software, we can compare my results with the “CILTEP” blend and without.

Unfortunately, as you can see from the chart, I didn’t do much better than my baseline. It’s possible that my results during the “CILTEP” were due to getting a little rusty at the Dual-2-Back for not having played in so long. If I were disingenuous, based only on the chart I could blame the blend for making me perform worse, but that would be silly.

Memory Test

Avg. points without “CILTEP”: ~23794

Avg. points with “CILTEP”: ~26834

Avg. max tiles without “CILTEP”: ~13

Avg. max tiles with “CILTEP”: ~14

In the Human Benchmark memory tiles test, you have to remember all of the tiles that you can in a row with no restraint on time. The more consecutive games you win at without making a mistake, the more points you get. Each level adds an additional tile you must memorize, and the matrix of tiles grows larger as you progress to make things more difficult. Focus is the key here as much as on-the-fly memorization.

Overall, I do not think that I performed substantially better with “CILTEP” (in red line) compared to my baseline. I did set a personal points record while taking the Artichoke Extract and Forskolin stack and reached a greater number of tiles during but due to the limited number of tests we can’t be certain (statistically speaking) if this was random chance or if the stack actually played a role there.

Reaction Time

Avg. Reaction Time without “CILTEP”: 323 ms

Avg. Reaction Time with “CILTEP”: 295.5 ms

Though I did score more of my fastest average times while taking “CILTEP,” any possible effect the stack had may not be very significant.

Does “CILTEP” work?

At this moment I can’t personally say whether the test results are significant enough to indicate that the “CILTEP” had a large effect on memory or reaction time.

• There are only 12 data points total (6 benchmark, and 6 with ‘CILTEP’) and a lot of confounding factors.
• No blinding in place for possible placebo effect.
• Some armchair statistics calculations show that none of the results are significant

Though I probably sound like a broken record by now, I believe this only necessitates more tests in the future. There is little hard evidence to prove without a doubt that “CILTEP” has any effect on cognition. It might have a small beneficial effect when looking at reaction time, but it’s tough to say with any certainty.

I feel there are some redeeming qualities though: “CILTEP” does seem to feel like adrafinil lite — I think this is due to the inclusion of ALCAR and Phenylalanine. To me, it goes well with caffeine and theanine, though I avoided testing while taking both together.

Considering how affordable the Artichoke + Forskolin stack is, I am not against purchasing another bottle to test some more.