In a 12-week study in which a cohort of 80 healthy men and women between the ages of 50 and 80 years old supplemented with a highly bioavailable Curcumin (a flavonoid extracted from turmeric) improved working memory while also reducing fatigue and stress reactivity significantly.
Assessment took place at baseline, and then at 4 and 12 weeks of supplementation. Outcomes were evaluated based on a combination of cognitive performance tests, mood assessments, and biomarker analysis, and compared with placebo, curcumin was associated with several significant effects.
Memory performance improved at 12 weeks using the Serial Threes, Serial Sevens, and virtual Morris Water Maze tests. Additionally, at both 4 and 12 weeks, lower fatigue scores were recorded for curcumin groups at both 4 and 12 weeks on the Profile of Mood States test, while tension, anger, confusion, and total mood disturbance were significantly improved at 4 weeks only.
According to the researchers, several modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline are positively modulated by curcumin based on past biomarker analysis, including inflammation reduction across several studies, benefits to blood insulin, and several indices of glucose regulation in prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes, and that these cardiometabolic processes are implicated in cognitive decline and dementia. Additionally, a previous trial conducted by this research team indicated a reduced cholesterol levels for both total and LDL cholesterol.
“To summarize, there is accumulating evidence identifying curcumin as a candidate treatment to help prevent cognitive decline and dementia,” researchers said. “An obvious first step in evaluating this possibility is to test the efficacy to improve mood and cognition in healthy, older cohorts.”
“To this end, we conducted a double-blind RCT examining the effects of Longvida curcumin on cognitive function, mood, and wellbeing in healthy participants aged 50-85 years. We hypothesized that, compared with placebo, curcumin treatment would lead to reduced fatigue, improved working memory, and attenuated stress reactivity,” researchers concluded.
Because working memory and fatigue are considered prominent, concerning non-physiological factors of aging, researchers believe that this study indicates curcumin’s potential to act as a therapeutic agent in conditions where mood and cognition are fragile.
In the study, the participants in the experimental group were administered 400 mg Longvida Curcumin, containing approximately 80 mg of curcumin with the remaining weight comprising commonly used pharmaceutical excipients and small amounts of other curcuminoids present in turmeric extract.
Source: Nutraceuticals World
