Nitric Oxide products have enjoyed a long history as premier muscle builders. Along with creatine, they define the pre-workout market! I am going to define “nitric oxide” a little differently than most, because I view nitric oxide products as ones that don’t contain creatine. There is nothing wrong with creatine, but it isn’t a nitric oxide product just because it contains some arginine. Most of these kitchen sink products on the market contain everything from neurotropics to arginine to creatine in an effort to boost performance, but to me they miss the mark completely. I feel that mixing everything together in one big scoop just isn’t effective! That being said, luckily there are true NO products on the market that don’t rely on creatine to boost their pumps and use the power of arginine and arginine co-factors to give you wicked pumps in the gym. Unfortunately the studies on Arginine products are not very supportive for their desired function, increasing NO2.

First on the list is NO2 (R) from MRI, the company that put NO on the map! NO2 is currently sold as NO2 – Black and it contains the same basic formula of L-Arginine AKG as the original formula along with some new co-factors that help supposedly improve the conversion to Nitric Oxide. NO2 – Black contains Arginine alpha-Ketoglutarate (A-AKG) 3000.00 mg along with the NO2 Black Proprietary Blend 150.00 mg Alpha-Lipoic Acid (thioctic acid) ACTINOS2 Whey peptide Fraction. Let’s look at these ingredients one by one to discuss their role in NO production. A-AKG is a staple performer for NO products, it is simply L-Arginine mixed with a krebs cycle intermediate alpha-ketogluterate. It probably has some absorption benefits over straight L-Arginine, since I believe that peptides are better than singular amino acids for passing through the intestine. The other ingredients are a bit of a mystery. Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) is a great anti-oxidant, and is certainly good for you but I am not exactly sure how really benefits NO production. A quick literature search does show that it could help with NO production in diabetic patients, so it is possible it helps. The ACTINOS2 is a whey protein fraction that is supposed to help upregulate eNOS, which is an enzyme that converts Arginine to Nitric Oxide. Unfortunately, I am not sure what this fraction is, so we will have to take their word for it. Still, NO2 Black is a solid choice for an NO product and since it started the revolution it is the “champ”.

Force Factor (R) is a brand that was completely born on the internet. They have some seriously outrageous advertising, but that aside, let’s look at the ingredients and see what they have to offer over NO2. It contains some very familiar ingredients such as Arginine alpha-Ketoglutarate (A-AKG), Arginine Ketoisocaproate (A-KIC), L-Arginine Monohydrate, which are all similar forms of L-Arginine bonded to krebs intermediates. This I hate, they use ingredients like Di-Potassium Phosphate, Calcium Phosphate and magnesium stearate as “active ingredients” when in fact they are the binders that hold the tablet together and don’t do anything as a supplement. It does have some cool things like NAD (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide) and L-Citrulline Monohydrate but the last ingredient, the L-Citrulline is last on the list, making it a very, very small quantity. Too bad, because Citrulline is a very cool ingredient that can help boost NO. NAD is an energy co-factor and a pretty cool ingredient, that can give you natural energy, which is a good addition.

The final product is Anadraulic Pump from LG Sciences. It is a bit different, since it is a drink vs pills, but it has some interesting ingredients for building pumps and increasing focus. It includes the usual suspects for boosting NO, L-Arginine HCL and L-Arginine AKG, but also L-Arginine Nitrate which is a new ingredient that combines the power of natural nitrates in foods like beets with L-Arginine. It’s pretty new, so there is no true data on it, but the manufacturer of this particular ingredient swears you can “feel” it. Anadraulic Pump also contains other amino acids meant for increasing performance like L-Taurine, L-Alanine, L-Aspartic Acid, all of which are shown in the literature to increase athletic performance. Taurine is popular in energy drinks for its energy boosting benefits, L-Alanine is similar to Glutamine, being used up when you exercise and Aspartic Acid may increase stamina and physical performance. Finally it has Quercetin, which may boost athletic performance and will also stop the body from reducing the enzyme responsible for destroying L-Arginine. This enzyme reducing effect should really help the conversion of Arginine to NOS, which is the point of pump products. Finally, it contains Geranium Oil Extract #105-41-9, which is a stimulant that will give you a natural energy boost prior to working out. Being a powder, it has a flavor called “Citrus Blast” which tastes similar to weak “Tang(R)” I suppose. It is pretty tasty and I actually looked forward to drinking it.

Each product delivers on it’s promise to give you NO boosting Arginine, along with co-factors. I feel the best are NO2 – Black and Anadraulic Pump, then it comes down to whether you want the simple formula in NO2 or the more advanced powder on Anadraulic Pump, specifically the inclusion of the Geranium Oil Extract, that gives you a stimulant boost. If you want a pill, stick with NO2, but if you want a powder, with some cool free form amino acids and a razor sharp stimulant, you should try Anadraulic Pump. Both products have a healthy dose of Arginine, which can also help with fat loss and are consumed with lots of water during the day to make them active. There are lots of products with creatine in them that take on the “NO” title, but I still don’t feel that those are TRUE nitric oxide products, since they tend to have everything thrown together and should be put into the creatine category.