Using a placebo controlled single blind crossover study, we examined the effects of dried skipjack soup stock on mood and emotion among Japanese female college students by questionnaire.
Twenty-seven subjects were divided into two groups, and 100 ml of skipjack soup stock and a placebo were alternately given for one week to both groups. The washout period was one week. The placebo was diluted water containing a natural skipjack flavor, pigment and salt. The profiles of mood were observed using the POMS test and the mood questionnaire before and after consumption.
There were some subjects who had an unstable emotional baseline. The walking counts by pedometer and the diary descriptions suggested there were some events that varied their emotions. We therefore decided to use subjects who had a stable emotional baseline for evaluation of the test foods. As a result, the scores for tension, anger and TMD (Total Mood Disturbance) in the skipjack soup stock group significantly decreased from the initial values. On the mood questionnaire the score for concentration increased from the initial value.
These results suggest that skipjack soup stock had a beneficial effect on mood status.
