[Clinical evaluation of the efficacy of innovative spread of a given fatty acid composition enriched by adaptogens].

Abstract

Adaptogens are a group of substances capable to increase the nonspecific resistance of the organism to a wide range of harmful effects and stress. However, only limited data exist on their use in the composition of foods for special dietary uses. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of a diet that included vegetable-fat spread enriched with 5-hydroxytryptophan, L-theanine and γ-aminobutyric acid on memory, general well-being and emotional status of healthy volunteers. Material and methods. The single-center, single-blind randomized prospective trial that enrolled persons without signs of significant organic pathology have been performed. Participants were randomly allocated to receive either 45 g/day standard spread enriched with 5-hydroxytryptophan (0.67%), L-theanine (0.56%) and γ-aminobutyric acid (0.45%) (main group, MG) or 45 g/day standard spread (control group, CG) for 10 days. Beside this, all participants followed a standard diet. Initially, as well as on the 10th day after the start of using the diet, the emotional state was assessed using the HADS anxiety and depression scale and Beck's depression inventory (BDI), general well-being by SAN questionnaire, memory according to the Lurie method; reaction time and attention concentration were assessed using the Krepelin counting test and the Burdon correction test. A 5-point Likert visual-analogue scale was used to assess the palatability (pasting) of the product, the severity of feelings of hunger and satiety at the baseline and on the 10th day of the study. All tests were performed under the supervision of staff. During the study, daily monitoring of the presence of adverse events was performed. Results. There were 70 subjects in MG and 70 in CG. Lurie memory score significantly increased in the MG (59.9±6.7 vs 58.1±7.4 points at the baseline; p=0.001), but not in the CG (58.0±6.9 vs 57.3±7.3 points, p>0.05). According to the SAN questionnaire, significant increase of well-being values (46.9±13.4 vs 44.2±13.5 points; p=0.01) and mood (49.9±12.6 vs 47.4±12.9 points; p=0.01) was found in MG, while in CG there was an increase of the mood category only (54.4±10.8 vs 52.2±12.1, p=0.04). At the end of the study an increase of «Satiety» (60.3±22.8 vs 51.5±24.8, p=0.022) and decrease of «Hunger» score (24.1±19.8 vs 29.1±19.4, p=0.02) were revealed in CG but not in the CG. No significant change was found by the results of other tests, stool form and its frequency in both groups. Conclusion. Newly developed spread enriched with 5-hydroxytryptophan, L-theanine, γ-aminobutyric acid was well-tolerated, did not affect the feeling of hunger and satiety, and improved memory and well-being parameters.