Thorne Amino Complex Review
#7 of 8 · NSF Certified, Smallest Dose✓ Label verified · Supplement Facts read Oct 11, 2026Real retailer photo, cut out. Label unedited.
Consider it if you are drug-tested and plan on two scoops. The label is open and the certification is real: NSF's database carries 22 lots of the Berry tub.
$52.00 · 30 servings (Amazon US, Oct 11, 2026)$1.73 per scoop · $4.54 per 10 g of EAAs
Why It Scores 7.3 — And The Label Line Behind Each Number
EAA Dose & Leucine
30% of score3,820 mg of EAAs per 7.6 g scoop with 1.25 g of leucine, the smallest printed dose on the list on both counts. Two scoops, the upper end of the directions, make 7.64 g and 2.5 g.
- EAAs per serving
- 3,820 mg (7,640 mg per two scoops)
- Leucine
- 1.25 g (2.5 g per two scoops)
Label Transparency
20% of scoreAll nine essential amino acids, plus cystine and tyrosine, are printed with their own amount. No blend.
- Serving
- 1 scoop (7.6 g); directions say one to two times daily
- Other amounts
- Lysine 650 mg · isoleucine and valine 625 mg each · threonine 350 mg · histidine 150 mg · phenylalanine 100 mg · methionine 50 mg · tryptophan 20 mg
Testing & Certification
20% of scoreNSF Certified for Sport, checked in NSF's database on Oct 11, 2026: the Berry 228 g tub is on listings 1534512 and 1295587 with 22 lot numbers between them. Certified by lot, so match the lot number on your tub.
- Certification
- NSF Certified for Sport by lot: listings 1534512 and 1295587, 22 lots (nsfsport.com, Oct 11, 2026)
Formula & Additives
15% of scoreOther ingredients: flavor, citric acid, rebaudioside A from stevia, and fruit and vegetable juice for color. No artificial sweetener. Together they make up 3.6 g of the 7.6 g scoop.
- Added
- Cystine 150 mg · tyrosine 30 mg
- Other ingredients
- Flavor, citric acid, rebaudioside A (from stevia), fruit and vegetable juice (color)
Value
15% of score$52.00 for 30 scoops on Oct 11, 2026: $1.73 a scoop and $4.54 per 10 g of EAAs, the highest on the list.
- Price
- $52.00 for 30 servings (Amazon US, Oct 11, 2026)
- Cost per 10 g EAAs
- $4.54
- More Specs
- Form
- Flavored powder (Berry)
- Servings
- 30 per 228 g tub
Label verified. Every figure read from the Supplement Facts photo, Oct 11, 2026.
Marketing Claims Vs. Reality
NSF Certified for Sport.
Found in NSF's Certified for Sport database on Oct 11, 2026 as 'Thorne Amino Complex (Berry Flavored Amino Acids)', 228 g, listings 1534512 and 1295587, 22 lot numbers. The certification is by lot.
All nine essential amino acids.
The panel prints an amount for each of the nine. They add up to 3,820 mg per scoop.
2:1:1 BCAA ratio.
The panel prints 1.25 g leucine and 625 mg each of isoleucine and valine.
Clinically validated EAA and BCAA support for lean muscle mass, strength and recovery.
Free-form EAAs stimulate muscle protein synthesis (Ferrando 2023). The listing names no study of this product, and one scoop is below the 6 g that raised net muscle protein balance after training (Børsheim 2002).
Enhances cellular energy production.
A line from the listing's gallery. The formula is amino acids, flavor and a sweetener, and none of the research we cite shows an amino acid drink of this size raising cellular energy in healthy people.
What Our Test Actually Found
The scoop weighs 7.6 g; the amino acids in it weigh 4 g
It is easy to read the 7.6 g serving size as the amino acid dose. The panel says otherwise: the eleven amino acids add up to 4,000 mg, and the nine essential ones to 3,820 mg. The remaining 3.6 g is flavor, citric acid, stevia extract and color.
Certified, and so is Momentous
NSF Certified for Sport is the reason to consider this tub. Momentous Vital Aminos has the same certification for all lots, a larger EAA and leucine dose in each scoop, and a price of $2.75 per 10 g of EAAs against $4.54 here. On dose and price it is the stronger certified choice.
Two scoops is the realistic amount
The directions allow one to two scoops a day. Two give 7.64 g of EAAs with 2.5 g of leucine, above the 6 g used after training in Børsheim 2002. That costs $3.47, and the tub then lasts 15 days.
Full analysis: all pros & cons (8), buy if / skip if
- NSF Certified for Sport, 22 lots listed
- Every amino acid amount printed
- Sweetened with stevia, colored with juice
- True 2:1:1 BCAA ratio
- 3.8 g of EAAs per scoop, the smallest printed dose here
- 1.25 g of leucine per scoop
- $4.54 per 10 g of EAAs, the highest on the list
- Almost half of each scoop is not amino acids
- You compete in a tested sport and already trust Thorne
- You want every amino acid amount printed
- You want stevia instead of artificial sweeteners
- You want 6 g of EAAs or 2 g of leucine in one scoop: NAKED delivers both
- Price per gram matters: this is the most expensive product on the list
- You want an unflavored powder
The label is open and the certification is real: NSF's database carries 22 lots of the Berry tub. The dose is the weak point. One scoop gives 3.8 g of EAAs and 1.25 g of leucine, under the 6 g and 2 g this list looks for, so the useful amount is two scoops at $3.47. Momentous is also NSF Certified for Sport, delivers more per scoop and costs less per gram.
Thorne Amino Complex is NSF Certified for Sport by lot, and its Supplement Facts panel prints every amount. One 7.6 g scoop holds 4,000 mg of amino acids, and 3,820 mg of that is the nine essential ones: 1.25 g leucine, 650 mg lysine, 625 mg each of isoleucine and valine, 350 mg threonine, 150 mg histidine, 100 mg phenylalanine, 50 mg methionine and 20 mg tryptophan. Cystine at 150 mg and tyrosine at 30 mg make up the rest. That is the smallest EAA dose and the smallest leucine dose among the products here that print their amounts. The other 3.6 g of the scoop is flavor, citric acid, stevia extract and juice color. NSF lists the Berry 228 g tub by lot: 22 lot numbers across listings 1534512 and 1295587 (checked Oct 11, 2026). A tub cost $52.00 for 30 scoops on Amazon US on Oct 11, 2026, which is $4.54 per 10 g of EAAs, the highest price on this list.
Certified and openly labelled, with a small, expensive scoop
Thorne Amino Complex does two things well: it prints every amount, and NSF's database carries it as Certified for Sport by lot. The scoop is the problem. At 3.8 g of EAAs and 1.25 g of leucine you need two to reach the doses used in the research, and at $52.00 a tub that is the most expensive route on this list. If you are drug-tested, Momentous gives you the same certification with a bigger dose for less. If you are not, NAKED costs about a fifth as much per gram.
If This Doesn’t Fit — Try These
01NAKED EAAs
If you want essential amino acids in a dose that matches the research, this is the tub: 9.25 g with 2.4 g of leucine, all nine amounts printed, nothing added but sunflower lecithin.
02Nutricost EAA Powder
For sixty cents a scoop you get 8 g of EAAs, plenty of leucine and a label that states third-party testing.
03Momentous Vital Aminos
Momentous earns its place with one thing none of the cheaper tubs has: NSF Certified for Sport for every lot, confirmed at the certifier.
Quick Answers
How many EAAs are in one scoop of Thorne Amino Complex?
3,820 mg. The panel prints nine essential amino acids that add up to that figure, led by 1.25 g of leucine, plus 150 mg of cystine and 30 mg of tyrosine. The scoop itself weighs 7.6 g.
Is Thorne Amino Complex a proprietary blend?
No. The Supplement Facts panel prints a separate amount for each of the eleven amino acids.
Is Thorne Amino Complex NSF Certified for Sport?
Yes, by lot. NSF's database shows the Berry 228 g tub under listings 1534512 and 1295587 with 22 lot numbers (checked Oct 11, 2026). Match the lot number on your tub at nsfsport.com.
Should I take one scoop or two?
The directions say one to two times daily. One scoop is 3.8 g of EAAs and 1.25 g of leucine; two are 7.64 g and 2.5 g, closer to the doses used in the research (Børsheim 2002).
Is it a BCAA or an EAA product?
Both names fit. It has all nine essential amino acids, and three of them, the BCAAs leucine, isoleucine and valine, make up 2.5 g of the 3.8 g in a 2:1:1 ratio.
Sources & Further Reading
3 peer-reviewed sources, each linked to PubMed
- [1] Ferrando AA, et al. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2023;20(1):2263409. PMID 37800468 — International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Effects of essential amino acid supplementation on exercise and performance. The ISSN position stand concludes that free-form EAAs raise blood EAA levels quickly and stimulate muscle protein synthesis, that the response starts at 1.5 to 3.0 g at rest and plateaus at about 15 to 18 g, that non-essential amino acids are not needed for it, and that aging calls for a larger share of leucine.
- [2] Børsheim E, et al. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2002;283(4):E648-57. PMID 12217881 — Essential amino acids and muscle protein recovery from resistance exercise. 6 g of oral essential amino acids taken 1 and 2 hours after resistance exercise raised net muscle protein balance; the response was double that of an earlier mix of 3 g EAA plus 3 g non-essential amino acids, pointing to a dose-dependent effect of EAAs.
- [3] Moberg M, et al. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2016;310(11):C874-84. PMID 27053525 — Activation of mTORC1 by leucine is potentiated by branched-chain amino acids and even more so by essential amino acids following resistance exercise. In eight trained volunteers, S6K1 activity 90 minutes after resistance exercise rose in the order placebo, leucine, BCAA, EAA, with a ninefold increase in the EAA trial.
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