Palatinose May Enhance Memory, Mood in Children

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Palatinose, a disaccharide carbohydrate composed of glucose and fructose from Beneo (Morris Plains, NJ), may improve several markers of cognitive health in school-aged children, according to recent study results. Compared to a control breakfast prepared with glucose, children who consumed an identical breakfast prepared with Palatinose experienced significant improvements to memory and mood several hours after the meal.

The double-blind, repeated-measure study, published in the European Journal of Nutrition, included 75 children aged 5–11 who consumed two separate breakfasts, each including milk, yogurt, cornflakes, jam, and orange juice. The meals were identical in calorie count and macronutrient composition, but one meal was sweetened with Palatinose while the other meal was sweetened with glucose. At least one week separated consumption of the two breakfasts, and after each meal researchers assessed participant verbal memory, spatial memory, sustained attention, reaction times, speed of information processing, and mood at both one hour after eating and three hours after eating.

While the measures of cognition and mood did not appear to differ at one hour after eating, the Palatinose group showed improvements to performance in memory tests and self-reported scores for mood at three hours after the meal. Both markers for mood and memory were found to be significantly better three hours after consuming the Palatinose breakfast compared to the glucose breakfast. What’s more, in the group of children who consumed the Palatinose meal on the second day of testing, information processing was also found to be faster and spatial memory was improved at three-hours after ingestion.

In its announcement of the study results, Beneo noted that past research has found Palatinose may enhance mood and memory in middle-aged and older adults. The firm also pointed out that Palatinose’s unique linkage structure enables it to be fully digested and absorbed, allowing for sustained energy with a lower blood-glucose rise and reduced insulin release. But the new study findings offer additional insight into the ingredient’s potential to support cognitive function in children.

“We know that children around the age of 4 to 10 years have a much higher rate of brain glucose utilization than adults and seem to be particularly susceptible to the differing effects of glucose release,” says Anke Sentko, vice president of regulatory affairs and nutrition communication for Beneo, in the study announcement. “Accordingly, children’s cognitive functions benefit most from the replacement of fast glucose release carbohydrates with the slow and sustained glucose supply of Palatinose. The study highlights that starting the day with the right choice of carbohydrates can make all the difference to performance.”

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Michael Crane
Associate Editor
Nutritional Outlook Magazine
michael.crane@ubm.com

References:

Young H et al., “The effect of using isomaltulose (Palatinose) to modulate the glycaemic properties of breakfast on the cognitive performance of children,” European Journal of Nutrition, vol. 54, no. 6 (September 2015): 1013–1020