Mood-A is a fast-acting formula designed to reduce symptoms of stress, mild anxiety, nervous energy, tension and an overactive mind. Formulated with noble kava from Vanuatu, lemon balm from France and bio-fermented L-theanine at clinical doses, Mood-A uses top-tier ingredients selected for the quality and consistency of their active constituents. Combined, they provide rapid, effective relief, support mental and emotional wellbeing and encourage a calm, balanced mood. It is a listed medicine (AUST L 527210) on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG).

• Fast-acting, layered relief from stress and anxiety (onset within 30 minutes to 1 hour, with layered, sustained anxiolytic effects that build over weeks).
• Helps modulate and balance glutamate and GABA activity.
• Enhances inhibitory GABA activity, reduces biomarkers of nervous system excitation and shifts the balance away from excitatory glutamate signalling.
• Reduces stress, anxiety and a racing mind.
• Supports mental health stability during times of increased demands, responsibilities or stress.

• Clinical trials have demonstrated kava, L-theanine and lemon balm provide effective relief from stress and anxiety.
• Helps modulate and balance glutamate and GABA activity.
• Enhances inhibitory GABA activity, reduces biomarkers of nervous system excitation and shifts the balance away from excitatory glutamate signalling.
• Reduces perceived stress and HPA axis reactivity with positive effects for stress and racing-mind presentations.
• Provides fast-acting effects (L-theanine and melissa: 0.5 - 2 hours), with sustained benefits (kava) for stress, anxiety and a resulting calm, balanced mood.

See factsheet for specific scientific findings and a full list of references.

• Meta-analyses show Noble Kava’s efficacy to provide short-term relief from anxiety compared to placebo, whilst also providing layered and sustained anxiolytic effects that build over a 24 week period. One pathway it achieves this is via modulating GABA-A receptor activity, enhancing GABA-A function and reducing excitatory neurotransmitter release.
• Melissa officinalis provides fast-onset anxiolytic effects and lowers cortisol within 1-2 hours. In addition to raising BDNF levels to support HPA axis regulation, it also raises GABA by inhibiting GABA transaminase and significantly reduces depression parameters to support a balanced mood. Rosmarinic acid is the key constituent within Melissa officinalis responsible for this mechanism of action, with acute effects of lemon balm associated with peak serum rosmarinic acid. Rosmarinic acid specifically has been shown to provide antioxidant and neuroprotective effects to reduce oxidative stress and neuroinflammation associated with anxiety.
• L-theanine has also demonstrated fast-acting anti-stress benefits, experienced within 30-60 minutes. It provides effective relief from stress and anxiety to support a balanced mood by shifting the balance from excitatory glutamate towards calming GABA and lowering biomarkers of nervous system excitation.

• People with stress, anxiety or a racing mind.
• People with nervous energy, nervous tension or anticipatory anxiety.
• People with multiple responsibilities or pressures.
• People looking to maintain healthy emotional balance during times of increased demands or stress.
• People seeking muscle relaxation effects.
• People having difficulty sleeping due to anxious thoughts or a racing mind.
• Suitable for children 12+ years, adults and older adults.

• To provide fast-acting relief for stress and anxiety with layered and sustained benefits that continue to improve over time.
• To modulate GABAergic pathways that support a balanced mood.
• To slow down a racing mind and calm nervous energy or nervous tension.
• To support mental health stability during times of increased demands, responsibilities or stress or when a patient is overwhelmed and unsure how or where to start.
• To calm an overactive nervous system, ease tension and relax muscles.
• To calm a racing mind prior to sleep.

When selecting a stress and anxiety relief product, key factors include clinical research on the raw material, clinical dosing, purity, excipient profile and manufacturing standards. For herbal ingredients, an additional layer is highly relevant and the raw material specification from the ingredient supplier should be checked, rather than relying on words, marketing claims or brand-produced documents. The quality, origin and therapeutic potential of herbal raw materials vary significantly across the many different grades available. Is it a cheap, generic, commonly stocked material that delivers the bare minimum required to pass testing, or the best option available, with the right composition of the active phytochemicals responsible for the therapeutic effect?

Unlike herbal ingredients, which are complex and vary significantly across the many different grades available, single nutrients are far simpler to assess. Source and quality are still essential, but they are much easier to control and verify. If a material is authenticated and genuinely pure, the body can be expected to respond the same way regardless of supplier or brand name. Where this cannot be confirmed, the supplier and manufacturing process become critical.
The key questions to ask are: Is it pure? Has every batch been independently tested to confirm this? Is it free from impurities? Is it the correct isomer, where relevant? Is it stable over time and in combination with other ingredients?

Our bio-fermented L-theanine meets every one of these criteria. It is authenticated, independently tested on every batch, free from impurities, the correct L-isomer and stable. Branded L-theanine materials can cost up to eight times more, with the price often justified by small, brand-specific clinical trials. Pure L-theanine is the same molecule regardless of its brand name and it will have the same effect at the same clinical dose. As such, we see no reason for our practitioners to pay eight times more for a name, and choose our high quality, bio-fermented L-theanine instead.

• Mood-A ® features clinical doses of noble kava from Vanuatu, lemon balm from France, and bio-fermented L-theanine.
• Provides fast-acting effects, with layered relief from stress and anxiety for a calm, balanced mood.
• Every active is chosen for the constituent that actually carries the effect.
• There is significant variability in the effectiveness and outcomes of kava products based on the ratios and quantities of the six major kavalactones present. Our noble kava from Vanuatu provides 12.5% kavalactones in preferred ratios for stress and anxiety.
• Rosmarinic acid is the principal active constituent behind lemon balm’s calming, mood and neuroprotective effects, and the accepted marker used to standardise the plant. This is the marker of extract quality most products lack. Our lemon balm from Nexira® in France is standardised to 5% rosmarinic acid to ensure it provides consistent and reliable benefits in every batch.
• We use 100% pure, stable and effective bio-fermented L-theanine for a fast-acting, non-sedating calm.
• Manufactured in an Australian TGA-licensed GMP facility to ensure consistent quality.

• Comprehensive third-party testing for potency, purity and contaminants.
• Minimal excipients, no unnecessary fillers or additives. Mood-A® is a clean formula with only the necessary excipients added as a requirement of the manufacturing process. Even our capsules are the cleanest available, made from hypromellose derived from sustainably sourced pine trees.
  
  

This product is designed to offer clinicians peace of mind and patients better outcomes, supporting targeted use in a range of clinical applications.

• Avoid use with CNS depressants (e.g. alcohol and benzodiazepines).
• Antihypertensive drugs: L-theanine might lower blood pressure, potentiating the effects of antihypertensive drugs.
• Not recommended for use during pregnancy or lactation.
• Not to be taken by children under 12 years of age.
• Not recommended for prolonged use.**
• May harm the liver.**
• Vitamin and mineral supplements should not replace a balanced diet.
  

**Please refer to FAQs below to gain further context for these warnings.

At Give Back Health, we follow a conservative risk/benefit approach and recommend healthcare practitioners assess use on a case-by-case basis, depending on individual patient needs, context and response to treatment.

• Piper methysticum: When used orally, there is some concern that pyrone constituents in kava can cause loss of uterine tone in pregnancy and can pass into breastmilk so recommend to avoid use.
• Melissa officinalis: Whilst not specifically contraindicated in pregnancy and lactation, there is insufficient reliable evidence so we recommend to avoid use.
• L-Theanine: While L-Theanine is not specifically contraindicated in pregnancy and lactation, there is insufficient reliable evidence so we recommend avoid use. Use a risk/benefit approach during pregnancy and lactation due to insufficient safety data.

Take 2 capsules daily. Up to 4 capsules daily if required.

Results are generally seen with 30-60 minutes, with continued layered benefits experienced over 24 weeks.

Give Back Health Clinic Collection Mood-A® is a clean formula free from many commonly used excipients, making it a suitable option for many. It is a low excipient formulation with minimal low-to-no allergen excipients. See the Free Froms & Allergy Info details in the main product description above.

• Excipients include: Microcrystalline cellulose, ascorbyl palmitate, colloidal anhydrous silica, hypromellose, purified water.
• Incidental minor excipients: Acacia, maltodextrin.

Give Back Health Clinic Collection Mood-A® is manufactured and tested in TGA-registered GMP facilities here in Australia, ensuring high standards of quality, safety and efficacy. Every product, every batch, with no exceptions. This means the included ingredients are what they claim to be and the products are therefore more likely to have an actual therapeutic impact. This process also prevents counterfeit and adulterated materials from entering the market. While it adds significantly to our costs, we believe this level of integrity should be the industry standard. Please note that we absorb the extra expense ourselves; it is not passed on to you.

We use:

• Noble Vanuatu kava root, standardised to provide 12.5% kavalactones in preferred ratios for stress and anxiety.
• France-sourced lemon balm from Nexira ®, standardised to 5% rosmarinic acid, the constituent behind lemon balm’s effects and the marker of extract quality that most products lack.
• 100% pure, stable and effective bio-fermented L-theanine for a fast-acting, non-sedating calm. It is vegan-friendly and not derived from green tea.
  • Gold-standard Capsugel® Vcaps® plus capsules from Lonza, widely considered the cleanest on the market. Unlike many capsules that contain gelatine or unnecessary additives like sodium lauryl sulphate, ours are made from just one ingredient: plant-based hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) (AKA hypromellose), derived from sustainably sourced pine trees. That’s it. These capsules are vegan, non-GMO Project Verified, Kosher and Halal certified, and Vegetarian Society approved.

Give Back Health Clinic Collection NR 300 is most commonly used alongside our NMN, MagRegulate®, MagSleep®, Lion's Mane Premium Organic, RejuveGen® and Multi VMN for additional support, depending on clinical goals.

All products containing kava (Piper methysticum) must carry the TGA label warning "not for prolonged use." This applies to every kava product regardless of dose, extract type or raw material quality.

As this warning does not define a specific time period, to help practitioners interpret and provide explanation to their patients, we recommend reviewing the published human clinical trials for duration and safety data. These should be considered alongside the individual patient (e.g. their health history, alcohol intake, concurrent medications and liver health).

Key literature reporting duration of kava use and safety data:

Volz & Kieser (1997)
24 weeks, 210 mg kavalactones/day (acetonic extract), n=101.
Adverse events: Rare, and fewer than placebo, with 2 cases of stomach upset rated possibly related. No clinically relevant changes in liver enzymes and no withdrawal symptoms.

Sarris (2020): 16 weeks, 240 mg kavalactones/day (aqueous extract, noble Vanuatu cultivar), n=171.
Adverse events: Kava was well tolerated overall, although mild liver enzyme elevations were more frequent at week 16 (24% vs 8%), particularly in heavier drinkers. No participant met criteria for herb-induced liver injury. Poor memory and tremor were more frequent than with placebo.

Boerner (2003): 8 weeks, 120 mg kavalactones/day (ethanolic extract), n=129, compared with buspirone and opipramol.
Adverse events: Well tolerated. Adverse event rates didn't differ significantly between groups.

Sarris (2013): 6 weeks, 120 to 240 mg kavalactones/day (aqueous extract), n=58.
Adverse events: No significant adverse events, no liver function differences from placebo, and no addiction or withdrawal effects.

Pittler & Ernst (2003) (Cochrane): 12 trials, 1 to 24 weeks.
Adverse events: Mild, transient and infrequent. Kava was considered relatively safe for short-term use, with long-term safety studies still required.

Taking a conservative approach, consistent with our guidance on liver safety, we recommend additional practitioner oversight for use beyond 8 weeks. This includes reviewing alcohol intake and concurrent medications and considering baseline and follow-up liver function tests where appropriate.

Additional relevant literature includes:

Pittler MH, Ernst E. Kava extract versus placebo for treating anxiety. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2003;2010(6).
Smith K, Leiras C. The effectiveness and safety of Kava Kava for treating anxiety symptoms: A systematic review and analysis of randomized clinical trials. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2018;33:107–17.
Bian T, Corral P, Wang Y, Botello J, Kingston R, Daniels T, Salloum RG, Johnston E, Huo Z, Lu J, Liu AC, Xing C. Kava as a Clinical Nutrient: Promises and Challenges. Nutrients. 2020 Oct 5;12(10):3044.
Soares RB, Dinis-Oliveira RJ, Oliveira NG. An Updated Review on the Psychoactive, Toxic and Anticancer Properties of Kava. J Clin Med. 2022 Jul 12;11(14):4039.
Teschke R, Sarris J, Schweitzer I. Kava hepatotoxicity in traditional and modern use: the presumed Pacific kava paradox hypothesis revisited. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2012 Feb;73(2):170-4.

All products containing kava (Piper methysticum) must carry the TGA label warning "Adults only". This applies to every kava product regardless of dose, extract type or raw material quality.

Due to insufficient reliable evidence on Kava in children, we recommend Mood-A® for adults only.

All products containing kava (Piper methysticum) must carry the TGA label warning "may harm the liver." This applies to every kava product regardless of dose, extract type or raw material quality.

When reviewing the published literature, liver concerns come mainly from case reports rather than adverse events in clinical trials, with Placebo-controlled trials lasting 24 weeks reporting only mild, transient and infrequent adverse events, with no cases of hepatotoxicity (Pittler & Ernst 2003; Smith & Leiras 2018).

An exception was seen in one trial using an aqueous extract (16 weeks, 240 mg kavalactones/day), where mild liver enzymes were elevated (GGT, AST, ALT), particularly in heavier drinkers. No participant met criteria for herb-induced liver injury (Sarris 2020).

Where liver injury has been reported, cases commonly involve other medications, alcohol, ethanolic or acetonic extracts, and doses or durations above usual recommendations.

Proposed contributors include:

• non-noble cultivars;
• use of stem peelings or aerial plant parts;
• flavokavain content, which is higher in ethanolic extracts and non-noble cultivars;
• raw material contaminated with moulds or mycotoxins.

In Australia, all kava used in TGA listed products must be a 100% water (aqueous) extract, which is consistent with traditional preparation.

This is another reason we believe practitioners should know exactly what material they are prescribing, why the raw material specification from the ingredient supplier should be checked, rather than relying on words, marketing claims or brand-produced documents, and why we provide complete transparency with ours.

Taking a conservative approach, we recommend additional practitioner oversight for use beyond 8 weeks. This includes reviewing and moderating alcohol intake, reviewing concurrent medications (particularly those metabolised by the liver), and considering baseline and follow-up liver function tests where appropriate.

Please request a copy of our raw material specifications via hello@givebackhealth.com to gain understanding of the quality we represent at Give Back Health.

Unlike herbs which are more complex, single nutrient ingredients are simple to assess. There are 4 key factors to ask, and if the answer is yes to all of the following, then the ingredient is chemically identical, whatever the brand name or price tag:

• Is the ingredient 100% pure?
• Has been tested for identification, contaminants, impurities and adulterants?
• Is the right isomer?
• Is stable as demonstrated by shelf life stability studies?

Suntheanine and Alphawave are great ingredients and forms of L-theanine. We just don’t believe customers should pay 8x more for the same ingredient with no real difference.

There are several preliminary in vitro murine model studies assessing the potential benefit of Melissa officinalis and rosmarinic acid on chemically induced-hyperthyroidism and Graves Disease by its ability to inhibit thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) binding to its receptor and inhibiting peripheral conversion of thyroxine (T4) to T3. However, despite this action, no study suggests Melissa officinalis to be contraindicated for hypothyroidism.
Rosmarinic acid, the active constituent within Melissa officinalis responsible for many of its benefits, specifically demonstrates competitive inhibition on thyroid peroxidase (TPO) and modulation of T-cell activity. In addition, Melissa officinalis has also shown to alleviate inflammation by blocking immunoglobulin G (IgG) effects on TSH receptors, as well as increase superoxide dismutase (SOD) and prevent glutathione decline whilst also suppressing malondialdehyde (MDA), the key marker in lipid peroxidation. This suggests a possible mechanism of action to support hypothyroidism as well as hyperthyroidism, as antioxidant status directly influences the binding capacity of iodine in the thyroid tissue.
That being said, there’s no human clinical trials supporting this function in human populations. As we know, no research does not immediately indicate safety. Therefore, Give Back Health recommends practitioners proceed with caution only after a thorough risk/benefit analysis and be aware of the potential impact on thyroid function based on the limited data available.
Please contact our technical team for further support if you need assistance determining the appropriate prescribing of Mood-A® for your patient.