Acute Post-Prandial Cognitive Effects of Brown Seaweed Extract in Humans

Haskell, Crystal, Jackson, Philippa, Dodd, Fiona, Forster, Joanne, Bérubé, Jocelyn, Levinton, Carey and Kennedy, David (2018) Acute Post-Prandial Cognitive Effects of Brown Seaweed Extract in Humans. Nutrients, 10 (1). p. 85. ISSN 2072-6643

[img]
Preview
Text (Full text)
Haskell-Ramsay et al - Acute Post-Prandial Cognitive Effects of Brown Seaweed Extract in Humans.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

Download (887kB) | Preview
Official URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10010085

Abstract

(Poly)phenols and, specifically, phlorotannins present in brown seaweeds have previously been shown to inhibit α-amylase and α-glucosidase, key enzymes involved in the breakdown and intestinal absorption of carbohydrates. Related to this are observations of modulation of post-prandial glycemic response in mice and increased insulin sensitivity in humans when supplemented with seaweed extract. However, no studies to date have explored the effect of seaweed extract on cognition. The current randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel groups study examined the impact of a brown seaweed extract on cognitive function post-prandially in 60 healthy adults (N = 30 per group). Computerized measures of episodic memory, attention and subjective state were completed at baseline and 5 times at 40 min intervals over a 3 h period following lunch, with either seaweed or placebo consumed 30 min prior to lunch. Analysis was conducted with linear mixed models controlling for baseline. Seaweed led to significant improvements to accuracy on digit vigilance (p = 0.035) and choice reaction time (p = 0.043) tasks. These findings provide the first evidence for modulation of cognition with seaweed extract. In order to explore the mechanism underlying these effects, future research should examine effects on cognition in parallel with blood glucose and insulin responses.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: seaweed; cognition; cognitive; mood; phlorotannin; phenolic; polyphenol; phytochemical
Subjects: B400 Nutrition
C800 Psychology
Department: Faculties > Health and Life Sciences > Psychology
Depositing User: Paul Burns
Date Deposited: 25 Jan 2018 12:36
Last Modified: 01 Aug 2021 07:36
URI: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/33173

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics