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Methylliberine

Methylliberine is a caffeine-like compound found in small amounts in Kucha tea leaves, and it is thought to act on the brain's adenosine system, which shapes alertness. People mostly look at it for focus and reaction speed, and trials found that a blend with caffeine and theacrine improved reaction times in egamers and tactical personnel. The evidence is very limited: only a few small studies, it was never tested alone for reaction time, and its own contribution can't be separated out.

Sources: PMID 35103121; PMID 36016763

Best evidence
Grade D
Conditions studied
0
Outcomes
2
Graded outcomes
0002

Evidence by condition

  • Strong
  • Moderate
  • Limited
  • Very limited

General outcomes

General

General: outcomes studied for Methylliberine
GradeOutcomeEffectSizeStudiesPeopleStudies list
Mood, Energy, and Subjective Well-being

A small crossover trial (n=25) found 100 mg methylliberine alone improved self-reported mood (at 1, 2, and 3 hours), subjective concentration, motivation, and energy over 3 hours compared to placebo, though objective cognitive tests (Stroop, Trail Making Test-B) were unaffected. A separate crossover study (n=50) found a caffeine-methylliberine-theacrine combination increased self-reported alertness without increasing anxiety, unlike caffeine alone.

Improves (the measure goes up)Small effect6 studies75 people

Studies that measured mood, energy, and subjective well-being

Reaction Time and Vigilance

Two RCTs tested methylliberine only in combination with caffeine and theacrine. In male egamers (n=50), the combination improved Flanker Test inhibitory control and psychomotor vigilance reaction time. In tactical personnel (n=48), the combination improved reaction times comparably to caffeine alone (300 mg) at half the caffeine dose. Effects cannot be attributed to methylliberine independently.

Improves (the measure goes up)Small effect6 studies98 people

Studies that measured reaction time and vigilance

Key findings

  • Mood, Energy, and Subjective Well-beingImproves (the measure goes up)
  • Reaction Time and VigilanceImproves (the measure goes up)

Shop Methylliberine

Third-party tested Methylliberine products. The evidence above is limited, so read it before you buy.

  • Grade D

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Studies cited

7 studies from PubMed

  1. A comparison of theacrine and methylliberine with caffeine as salivary markers for determining gastric emptying.International Journal of Pharmaceutics: X, 2025 · PMID 41323841
  2. Methylliberine Ingestion Improves Various Indices of Affect but Not Cognitive Function in Healthy Men and Women.Nutrients, 2023 · PMID 37960163
  3. Effects of caffeine, methylliberine, and theacrine on vigilance, marksmanship, and hemodynamic responses in tactical personnel: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2022 · PMID 36016763
  4. A Combination of Caffeine, TeaCrine® (Theacrine), and Dynamine® (Methylliberine) Increases Cognitive Performance and Reaction Time Without Interfering With Mood in Adult Male Egamers.Cureus, 2021 · PMID 35103121
  5. Safety of Short-Term Supplementation with Methylliberine (Dynamine®) Alone and in Combination with TeaCrine® in Young Adults.Nutrients, 2020 · PMID 32121218
  6. Development of a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for characterizing caffeine, methylliberine, and theacrine pharmacokinetics in humans.Journal of Chromatography B, 2020 · PMID 32829142
  7. A Toxicological Evaluation of Methylliberine (Dynamine®).Journal of Toxicology, 2019 · PMID 31911801