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Calcium alpha-ketoglutarate

Supplement specialty compound general nutritionfitness
Aka: Ca-AKG, alpha-ketoglutarate
Not medical advice. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before you start, stop or change the timing of anything you take.
How to use
What it’s for
Limited human evidence — an SG trial is under way
Pros & cons
Pros
  • An SG RCT is testing 1 g a day over 6 months
  • Not named in HSA's prohibited or restricted annexes
Cons
  • No efficacy results published from that trial yet
  • Optimal dose and long-term effects are unsettled
  • One pre-workout with AAKG underperformed plain caffeine
Sources
  1. Recruitment evaluation of a gerotherapeutic randomized controlled trial testing alpha-ketoglutarate in biologically older, middle-aged adults (ABLE) (Exp Gerontol 2025) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “ABLE is a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial assessing the effects of 1 g sustained-release calcium alpha-ketoglutarate versus placebo over 6 months … in 120 generally healthy adults … aged 40-60 years … living in Singapore”
  2. Impact of Alpha-Ketoglutarate on Skeletal Muscle Health and Exercise Performance: A Narrative Review (Nutrients 2024) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “research gaps remain in understanding AKG's long-term effects, optimal dosage, and specific pathways, particularly across diverse populations”
  3. Effects of Multi-Ingredient Pre-Workout Supplement and Caffeine on Bench Press Performance (Nutrients 2022) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “a multi-ingredient pre-workout supplement (MIPS) containing beta-alanine, L-citrulline malate, arginine alpha-ketoglutarate … Bench press repetition volume was greater after anhydrous caffeine than MIPS supplementation”
  4. HSA — Guidelines on prohibited and restricted ingredients in health supplements and traditional medicines (Oct 2025), Annexes A and B · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Annex A: List of substances which are prohibited or restricted for use with conditions … Annex B: List of substances with potential safety issues [alpha-ketoglutarate appears in neither annex]”
  5. HSA — Health Supplements Guidelines (Jan 2026), Tables 4–5 vitamin and mineral limits · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Table 5: Minerals Limits … Calcium 1200 mg [maximum daily limit; no row for alpha-ketoglutarate in Table 4 or Table 5]”
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Updated 2026-08-29. Every line above traces to a numbered source. Kozen-X is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. It lists what published sources have written down — nothing more. A pair not listed is unrecorded, not cleared. Before you start, stop or re-time anything, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.