2008 Volume 5 Issue 2 Pages 135-143
This study is to examine whether health food containing α-lipoic acid, Ginkgo biloba extract, and L-carnitine can improve cognitive function of human subjects complaining amnesia. A before-after study was done on 31 adult subjects comprising of 14 males and 17 females with an average age of 57.3±5.8 years who had symptoms of memory impairment. The Japanese version of ‘Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of the Neuropsychological Status (RBANS)’ was utilized to evaluate cognitive functions of these subjects before and after the supplementation for 12 weeks. As a result, the placebo group showed no improvement of cognitive functions. In contrast, in the supplementation group, immediate memory (story), language (picture naming and semantic fluency), attention (digit span), and short-term memory (list, story and figure recall) were significantly improved. In conclusion, the present health food is useful for improving cognitive functions such as memory and attention.
