Two independently patented magnesium forms, each said to cross the blood-brain barrier by a different route, are combined in one cognitive-health supplement, giving formulators a template for dual-mechanism brain minerals.
Triquetra Health has launched Mental Magnesium, a cognitive wellness formulation pairing magnesium L-threonate, licensed as Magtein, with magnesium N-acetyl taurinate, licensed as ATA Mg [1]. The company calls the combination a Dual-Pathway Brain Magnesium System and says it is the first commercial product to carry both patented blood-brain barrier crossing magnesium forms.
The clinical basis the company cites rests on two published studies: work in Neuron (Slutsky et al., 2010) that measured how oral magnesium compounds affect cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) magnesium, and the MMFS-01 randomized controlled trial (Liu et al., Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 2016) in older adults with cognitive impairment [2,3].
The two actives, briefly
Magnesium L-threonate is a magnesium salt of L-threonic acid, a vitamin C metabolite, supplied under the Magtein trade name licensed from AIDP and Magceutics. Magnesium N-acetyl taurinate combines magnesium with an acetylated form of the amino sulfonic acid taurine and is licensed from Synapharm.
Both sit apart from the salts that dominate supplement formulation, glycinate, citrate, malate, and magnesium oxide, which the company describes as absorbing adequately into circulation but doing little to raise brain tissue magnesium.
In the Neuron study, magnesium L-threonate was the only oral magnesium compound tested that significantly raised CSF magnesium after 24 days (p<0.001), while magnesium chloride and magnesium gluconate produced no statistically significant change. That comparison covers a narrow set of salts, so it indicates little about forms the study did not test.
In MMFS-01, participants taking magnesium L-threonate showed cognitive performance that the company equates to a brain functioning 9.4 years younger, with a cognitive composite effect size of d=0.91, which it describes as among the largest reported in a magnesium supplement trial.
ATA Mg holds an FDA New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) No Objection Letter, NDI 1139, and has been evaluated for safety by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The company reports a no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) of 2,250 mg/kg/day, which it says gives a safety margin of 192 to 577 times at use levels.
For product developers, the framing shifts brain-targeted magnesium from a dosing question to a form-selection question. An estimated 50 percent of American adults fall short of daily magnesium recommendations, yet the company argues that standard forms may still leave a brain-specific shortfall, placing the emphasis on delivery rather than milligrams, much as microencapsulation work has done for magnesium absorption and gastrointestinal tolerability.
“Standard brain supplements have always faced the same limitation: they arrive at the bloodstream and stop.”
The dual-pathway claim rests on a division of labor. Magnesium L-threonate, which the company calls The Builder, is positioned as raising brain magnesium and supporting synaptic connections. Magnesium N-acetyl taurinate, The Balancer, is presented as crossing by a separate lipophilic route and modulating kainate and NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors so neural signaling stays steady rather than overexcited.
“Magtein® is The Builder — the only magnesium form studied to cross the blood-brain barrier and raise brain magnesium where memory and focus actually happen. ATA Mg® is The Balancer — the world’s only taurinergic magnesium that keeps neural signals smooth, not wired. The Dual-Pathway Brain Magnesium System is what complete brain magnesium supplementation finally looks like.”
Triquetra said in its statement that pairing the two requires an independent license for each, from AIDP and Magceutics for Magtein and from Synapharm for ATA Mg, which it gives as the reason no other product combines them. It presents that licensing barrier, rather than any formulation obstacle, as the constraint for brands evaluating comparable cognition-focused actives.
The firm added that each serving supplies 110 mg of elemental magnesium, 26 percent of the Daily Value, from 1,000 mg of magnesium L-threonate matched to the dose used in a 2024 wearable-biometric trial and 450 mg of magnesium N-acetyl taurinate. Cofactors are pyridoxal-5′-phosphate (P5P), vitamin D3, magnesium ascorbate, and a fulvic and humic acid complex, with manufacturing in FDA-registered facilities certified to current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) and third-party testing for purity, potency, and safety.
Sources
- Triquetra Health LLC, Triquetra Health Launches Mental Magnesium: First Dual-Pathway Brain Formula Combining Patented BBB-Crossing Magtein with ATA Mg Neural Excitation Control, PR Newswire, July 29, 2026.
https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/news-releases/triquetra-health-launches-mental-magnesium--first-dual-pathway-brain-formula-combining-patented-bbb-crossing-magtein-with-ata-mg-neural-excitation-control-302836854.html(accessed 2026-07-30). - Slutsky I, et al., Enhancement of learning and memory by elevating brain magnesium, Neuron, 2010; 65(2):165-177.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20152124/(accessed 2026-07-30). - Liu G, et al., Efficacy and Safety of MMFS-01, a Synapse Density Enhancer, for Treating Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial, Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 2016; 49(4):971-990.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26519439/(accessed 2026-07-30).
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is provided for dietary supplement industry professionals and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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