Duo of herbal extracts may boost cognitive function: Amway RCT

19-Aug-2024 - Last updated on 19-Aug-2024 at 15:05 GMT

A combination of extracts from Cistanche tubulosa and Ginkgo biloba may improve cognitive and memory function and quality of life in middle-aged and older adults, says a new study.

Scientists from Amway (Shanghai) Innovation & Science Co. report that 90 days of supplementation with the combination of Chinese herbal extracts of C. tubulosa and G. biloba (CG) also led to improvements in cognitive-related blood biomarkers.

“These findings indicated that CG supplementation could potentially serve as an effective supplementary solution for enhancing cognitive and memory functions,” they wrote in Phytotherapy Research.

The study adds to previous internal data from the same group that reportedly found a synergistic effect exerted by the herbal extract duo on neuronal cell signaling and neuronal responses. The combination is subject to two U.S. patents: US-9737582-B2 and US-20150320818-A1.

Ginkgo biloba © borchee Getty Images — “In traditional Chinese medicine, C. tubulosa serves as the “king leaf,” presenting kidney yang-tonifying effects, and G. biloba serves as the “minister leaf,” presenting lung tonifying effects,” explained the researchers. Image © borchee / Getty Images

Study details

The Amway scientists recruited 100 middle-aged and elderly Chinese people between the ages of 40 and 75 to participate in their randomized controlled trial. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either placebo or the Cistanche-Ginkgo combination formulated with a daily dose of “at least 72 mg C. tubulosa-derived echinacoside and 27 mg G. biloba-derived flavonol glycosides.”

The researchers used a range of tests and measures to assess cognition and memory, including Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), the Cognitrax matrix test and the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised.

Results showed that the Cistanche-Ginkgo combination was associated with significant improvements in scores on the MMSE and MoCA, compared to placebo, while Cognitrax and Wechsler Memory Scale scores “demonstrated enhanced memory functions, including long-term and delayed memory”, the researchers wrote.

Quality of life, measured using the World Health Organization Quality of Life scale, also significantly improved in the Cistanche-Ginkgo group.

Improvements in cognitive-related blood biomarkers were also reported, including pTau and thyroid hormones.

Importantly, no adverse events were reported in the study, supporting the safety and tolerability of the combination.

“Given the wide-ranging applicability of these testing indicators, we deemed that the effectiveness of this product was not confined to the Chinese population and could potentially be extrapolated to populations in other countries, particularly those in Asia,” the researchers wrote.

Source: Phytotherapy Research
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1002/ptr.8275
“A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of Cistanche tubulosa and Ginkgo biloba extracts for the improvement of cognitive function in middle-aged and elderly people”
Authors: L. Chen, et al.