BreathiZen Ingredients: All Ten, With The Real Evidence
Ten named botanicals and nutrients. Four have human research. Three have only lab or animal work. Not one has a published amount.
BreathiZen names ten ingredients: mullein leaf extract, bromelain powder, marshmallow root, Cordyceps militaris, ginger root extract, green tea extract, L-theanine, California poppy seed, corydalis root and organic lemon extract. The seller does not publish how much of any of them is in a 0.60 mL serving, so none of them can be compared with the amounts used in research.
The full BreathiZen ingredient list
Sorted the way the label lists them, with an evidence grade we assigned ourselves after reading each study.
| Ingredient | Amount | What the research actually shows | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mullein Leaf Extract Verbascum thapsus | Not published | Traditional use only. A 2022 review in Phytotherapy Research collects the folk record and the laboratory work, and finds no human breathing trials. | Weak |
| Bromelain Powder from Ananas comosus | Not published | In 116 German children with acute sinusitis, bromelain on its own cleared symptoms about two days faster than standard care. That was a cohort study, not a randomised trial, and it was not a lung study. | Moderate |
| Marshmallow Root Althaea officinalis | Not published | Surveys of 822 people using a marshmallow root syrup reported dry cough easing within about ten minutes. There was no placebo group, so the finding is suggestive, not proof. | Moderate |
| Cordyceps Militaris Cordyceps militaris | Not published | In 28 adults, three weeks of a mushroom blend containing Cordyceps raised VO2 max. One week did nothing. Because it was a blend, Cordyceps on its own cannot take the credit. | Moderate |
| Ginger Root Extract Zingiber officinale | Not published | In isolated human and animal airway tissue, ginger compounds relaxed airway muscle. That work was done on tissue and in mice. Nobody has run a human dosing trial. | Weak |
| Green Tea Extract Camellia sinensis | Not published | Among 13,570 Korean adults, drinking green tea twice a day was linked to lower odds of chronic obstructive lung disease. That is an association in a snapshot survey. It cannot show cause, and tea is not an extract. | Moderate |
| L-Theanine amino acid from tea | Not published | In 15 healthy adults, a single 200 mg dose raised calming alpha waves during a stress test. Fifteen people is a small study, and it was funded by the ingredient's maker. | Moderate |
| California Poppy Seed Eschscholzia californica | Not published | In 264 anxious adults, a blend of California poppy, hawthorn and magnesium beat placebo by a small margin. No trial has tested the poppy on its own, and none has tested it for sleep. | Moderate |
| Corydalis Root Corydalis yanhusuo | Not published | The active compound DHCB eased several kinds of pain in mice and in cell tests, without causing tolerance. There is no human trial, and no respiratory research at all. | Weak |
| Organic Lemon Extract Citrus limon | Not published | The Cochrane review of 29 trials and 11,306 people found daily vitamin C does not prevent colds. It shortened them by about 8 percent. There is no reliable citrus-flavonoid research for breathing. | Weak |
Why every amount says the same thing
No Supplement Facts panel was supplied to this website, and none appears on the bottle artwork we were given. That is not an oversight on our part. It means the amounts have never been published, so nobody outside the company can check them. We will publish the panel the week it exists.
The four ingredients with human research
Bromelain powder
The pineapple enzyme, and the best-evidenced ingredient here. In 116 German children with acute sinusitis, bromelain on its own cleared symptoms about two days faster than standard care. A 2023 review of 39 trials found it mildly reduces pain. Neither was a lung study, and the sinusitis study was a cohort, not a randomised trial.
Moderate evidence · Braun et al., 2005
Marshmallow root
A demulcent: it forms a slippery coating on an irritated throat. Surveys of 822 people using a marshmallow syrup reported dry cough easing within about ten minutes. There was no placebo group. Separately, lab work found the root extract lowered inflammation markers in human immune cells.
Moderate evidence · Fink et al., 2018
Cordyceps militaris
A mushroom aimed at oxygen use rather than the airway. In 28 adults, three weeks of a mushroom blend containing Cordyceps raised VO2 max, while one week did nothing. Because it was a blend, Cordyceps alone cannot take the credit.
Moderate evidence · Hirsch et al., 2016
L-theanine
The amino acid from tea that raises calming alpha brain waves. In 15 healthy adults, a single 200 mg dose did exactly that during a stress test. Fifteen people is small, and the study was funded by the ingredient's maker.
Moderate evidence · Evans et al., 2021
The ingredients that rest on tradition or lab work
This is where a lung supplement usually gets its identity, and where the evidence is thinnest.
Mullein leaf extract
Mullein is the headline. It is the herb that makes this read as a breathing product, and herbalists have used the leaf as a soothing expectorant for centuries. A 2022 review in Phytotherapy Research collects everything known about it and finds antibacterial laboratory assays, a long folk record, and no human breathing trials at all. Not a small one. None.
That does not make it useless. It makes it unproven, which is a different thing, and it is worth knowing that the ingredient doing the most work on the packaging is doing the least work in the evidence base.
Ginger root extract
Ginger has the most interesting mechanism on the label. Researchers at Columbia found that ginger compounds relaxed airway smooth muscle in isolated human and animal tissue, and eased induced tightening. That is a real finding. It was also done on tissue in a bath and on mice, at concentrations nobody has translated into a human dose. Between a tissue bath and four pumps of a spray there is a long road that nobody has walked.
Corydalis root
This is the weakest ingredient on the label and we are naming it. Corydalis yanhusuo is a traditional Chinese pain herb. Its active compound, DHCB, eased several kinds of pain in mice and in cell tests without causing tolerance, which is genuinely interesting pharmacology. It has no human trial and no respiratory research whatsoever. Its presence in a lung formula is hard to justify on evidence.
California poppy seed
A traditional calming herb. The one decent trial gave 264 anxious adults a three-part blend of California poppy, hawthorn and magnesium, and it beat placebo by a small margin. Nobody has tested the poppy on its own, and nobody has tested it for sleep, despite how often it is sold for sleep.
Green tea extract and organic lemon
Green tea's best data is a survey of 13,570 Korean adults, where drinking tea twice a day tracked with lower odds of chronic obstructive lung disease. That is an association in a snapshot, it cannot show cause, and brewed tea is not an extract. Lemon carries vitamin C, and the Cochrane review of 29 trials and 11,306 people found daily vitamin C does not prevent colds; it shortens them by about 8 percent. That is the honest version.
Every ingredient, pictured
Ten ingredients is a lot for a 0.60 mL serving. A broad formula spreads whatever is in the bottle across ten lines, and without published amounts there is no way to know whether any single one reaches a researched dose. A narrower formula with published amounts would be easier to evaluate. That is a real trade-off and it cuts against this product.
What is not in BreathiZen
- No meat, fish or dairy ingredient appears on the list of ten.
- No wheat, barley or rye ingredient appears on the list of ten.
- No stimulant is listed, though green tea extract can carry caffeine in an amount that is not published.
- No melatonin, no NAC, no quercetin and no vitamin D, all of which appear in other products in this category.
- No allergen statement was supplied to us, and we will not write one we cannot source. If you have a serious allergy, call +1 (302) 200-3480 before you order.
Ingredient questions
What is in BreathiZen?
Ten ingredients: mullein leaf extract, bromelain powder, marshmallow root, Cordyceps militaris, ginger root extract, green tea extract, L-theanine, California poppy seed, corydalis root and organic lemon extract.
How much of each ingredient is in it?
Not published. No Supplement Facts panel was supplied to us and none appears on the artwork we were given. That means nobody outside the company can compare these amounts with the amounts used in research. It is the single biggest gap in the product and we say so on every page that touches ingredients.
Does BreathiZen contain caffeine?
Green tea extract can carry caffeine, and the amount is not published. If caffeine is a problem for you, ask the desk before you order.
Is it vegetarian, gluten free and dairy free?
The seller prints all three marks. None of the ten named ingredients is meat, fish, dairy, wheat, barley or rye. We cannot confirm the manufacturing environment because no test report was supplied to us.
Can I take it with my medication?
Ask a clinician first, and take the bottle with you. Bromelain and green tea can both add to a blood thinner. Anything calming can add to a sedative. The NIH's NCCIH publishes a plain guide to supplement and medicine interactions, and we link to it.
What are the side effects?
No side-effect list was published for this product. Based on the ingredients: bromelain can upset the stomach and can raise bleeding risk, green tea extract carries caffeine and has been linked to liver problems at high doses, and ginger can cause heartburn.
References
Every source linked here was opened and checked.
- Braun et al. — 2005. Therapeutic use, efficiency and safety of the proteolytic pineapple enzyme Bromelain-POS in children with acute sinusitis in Germany. In Vivo · PMID 15796206.
- Leelakanok et al. — 2023. Efficacy and safety of bromelain: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrition and Health · PMID 37157782.
- Gupta et al. — 2022. Health-promoting and disease-mitigating potential of Verbascum thapsus L. (common mullein): A review. Phytotherapy Research · PMID 35088467.
- Fink et al. — 2018. Marshmallow Root Extract for the Treatment of Irritative Cough: Two Surveys on Users' View on Effectiveness and Tolerability. Complementary Medicine Research · PMID 30064132.
- Bonaterra et al. — 2020. Anti-inflammatory and Anti-oxidative Effects of Phytohustil and Root Extract of Althaea officinalis L. on Macrophages in vitro. Frontiers in Pharmacology · PMC7090173.
- Hirsch et al. — 2016. Cordyceps militaris Improves Tolerance to High-Intensity Exercise After Acute and Chronic Supplementation. Journal of Dietary Supplements · PMID 27408987.
- Oh et al. — 2018. Consuming Green Tea at Least Twice Each Day Is Associated with Reduced Odds of Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease in Middle-Aged and Older Korean Adults. The Journal of Nutrition · PMID 29378037.
- Townsend et al. — 2013. Effects of Ginger and Its Constituents on Airway Smooth Muscle Relaxation and Calcium Regulation. American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology · PMID 23065130.
- Evans et al. — 2021. A Randomized, Triple-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Study to Investigate the Efficacy of a Single Dose of l-Theanine on Stress in a Healthy Adult Population. Neurology and Therapy · PMID 34562208.
- Hanus et al. — 2004. Double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study of a fixed combination containing Crataegus oxyacantha and Eschscholtzia californica with magnesium in mild-to-moderate anxiety disorders. Current Medical Research and Opinion · PMID 14741074.
- Zhang et al. — 2014. A Novel Analgesic Isolated from a Traditional Chinese Medicine. Current Biology · PMID 24388848.
- Hemilä et al. — 2013. Vitamin C for preventing and treating the common cold. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · PMID 23440782.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Is It Really 'FDA Approved'?. FDA.gov.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Questions and Answers on Dietary Supplements. FDA.gov.
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. 21 CFR Part 111: Current Good Manufacturing Practice for Dietary Supplements. eCFR.gov.
- NCCIH (National Institutes of Health). Know the Science: How Medications and Supplements Can Interact. NCCIH.nih.gov.
Order BreathiZen from the official website
One serving a day, ten named botanicals, and sixty days to change your mind. Start with one bottle if this is new to you.
60-day money-back guarantee · ships from the United States · questions on +1 (302) 200-3480