Grape and blueberry extract blend supports age-related cognitive decline, debuts at SupplySide West

Photo © iStockphoto.com/Devonyu

A polyphenol-rich wild blueberry and grape extract blend for cognitive health is launching at SupplySide West from supplier Diana Food (Saddle Brook, NJ) and the nutrition division of Symrise (Holzminden, Germany). The new ingredient, branded Cerebelle, has been clinically shown to help prevent aged-related cognitive decline in healthy older adults, Diana Food says. Studies show that the combination of the two neuroprotective ingredients helps increase “specific flavonoid bioavailability,” the firm said in a press release.

A recent six-month study on Cerebelle in elderly adults was published in the Journals of Gerontology¹. In the study, researchers from the Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods (Canada) and the University of Bordeaux (France) found that six months of supplementation with Cerebelle in healthy older adults helped improve memory function. The bicentric, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study was conducted on 215 subjects aged 60 to 70 years old.

Subjects were given either a placebo or 600 mg/day of Cerebelle for 24 weeks. Subjects performed a series of cognitive tests, including those to assess visuospatial learning and episodic memory (via the Paired Associate Learning, or PAL, test), verbal episodic and recognition memory (VRM), and working memory (SSP). Researchers found that the Cerebelle subjects saw improved VRM free recall.

In addition, in a subgroup with advanced cognitive decline at baseline, researchers found that at the end of the study, these subjects demonstrated improvement in both PAL and VRM. “These results infer that Cerebelle improves verbal memory in healthy elderly people,” the company said in a press release. “The study also demonstrated that Cerebelle improves visuospatial memory, or the ability to recall previous events, emotions, and places, in healthy senior people with a lower level of memory performance."

“Preclinical data have shown that polyphenols from Cerebelle can decrease the production of pro-inflammatory compounds in the brain,” said Joyce Cascella, Diana Food’s consumer health category manager, in a press release. “The published preclinical study demonstrated that these polyphenols stimulate the production of nerve growth factor in the brain with an increase in synaptic plasticity, leading to an improvement of memory. These three different pathways strengthen our understanding of the capability of Cerebelle to protect against the memory decline associated with aging.

The ingredient can be formulated into dietary supplements, foods, and beverages. Visit SupplySide West Booth #5081 for more information.

References:

1. Bensalem J et al. "Polyphenols from grape and blueberry improve episodic memory in healthy elderly with lower level of memory performance: a bicentric double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study." The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. Published online July 19, 2018.