Results from a Double-blind Randomized Controlled Trial of Scallop-derived Plasmalogens Published in Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology

FUKUOKA, Japan–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Japanese Plasmalogen Society (Office: Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan; President: Yutaka Oomura) announced the research results that scallop-derived plasmalogens administered to college athletes improved sleep disorders, negative mood and mental concentration.

Plasmalogens, a class of phospholipids, serve vital roles in the body, including antioxidant action, ion transport, cholesterol efflux and membrane fusion. Plasmalogens are known to protect the brain against oxidative damage, and to activate brain function. Notably, scallop-derived plasmalogens, compared to sea squirt- and chicken-derived plasmalogens, abundantly contain DHA-rich plasmalogens, which have been found to be more effective for cognitive function than other types of plasmalogens in the previous studies.

The research team led by Dr. Takehiko Fujino, Professor emeritus of Kyushu University, revealed significant improvements in the plasmalogen-treated group compared to the placebo group by conducting a RCT.

Key findings are as follows:

1. Sleep problems were significantly alleviated.
2. “Anger-Hostility” and “Fatigue-Inertia” of the mood scale were significantly improved.
3. Mental concentration was boosted.

Sleep disorders assessed by the Athens Insomnia Scale were significantly improved in the plasmalogen-treated group while no such improvement was found in the placebo group. There were significant improvements in Anger-Hostility and F atigue-Inertia of Profile of Mood States 2 (POMS2) in the plasmalogen-treated group, but not in the placebo group. Study participants with stronger negative moods showed more marked improvement. The plasmalogen-treated group showed a continuous improvement in the scores of the Uchida-Kraepelin test during the tests, while the placebo group showed the slowing down in the scores at min 5.

Mental concentration is a crucial factor that often determines the success or failure of study, work and sports. Poor concentration is one of the symptoms of mental illness such as depression. The research results have shown that orally administered scallop-derived plasmalogens markedly improve a stronger negative mood and then enhance mental concentration in athletes. This suggests that scallop-derived plasmalogens would be useful for anyone who hopes to be free from a negative mood and to be lively.

These findings were published in Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, a leading, open-access, peer-reviewed scientific journal (Impact Factor 6.684).

Article Title: Orally Administered Plasmalogens Alleviate Negative Mood States and Enhance Mental Concentration: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2022.894734/full

For more details, please visit at https://pls.jp/wp-content/uploads/PressRelease202207.pdf.