Better than DHA and EPA? Japanese supplement firm claims silk peptide is a superior memory booster
Branded Memory Keep Ex, Hisao Nakajima, the CEO of Japan Central Pharm (JCP) told NutraIngredients-Asia said that the product marketing efforts were directed at parents, who would hopefully purchase the product for their children who are preparing for university entrance exams.
“The consumers usually buy our product 6 months before the university entrance exam,” Nakajima said.
Selling at JYP$16,200 (US$ 148.75) with tax included, a bottle of Memory Keep Ex is meant to be consumed within a month, with a recommended daily dosage of four capsules.
The products are sold in Amazon and the firm’s online mail order site.
The firm aims to sell 3,000 boxes per month as a goal for the immediate future.
As compared to the gingko extract, DHA and EPA, silk peptide is less commonly used in memory boosting supplements.
However, Nakajima claimed that silk peptide was more effective than the other aforementioned ingredients.
Silk peptide is the breakdown of silk fibrous protein.
He explained that the silk peptide boosts memory by promoting blood flow in the brain and activating the mitochondria of a brain cell.
The company has also conducted clinical trials to study the effects of the product.
For instance, it compared the long-term memory and the recall–time of the product with DHA and EPA.
In a clinical trial involving 47 medical students with an average age of 21 years, the firm found that students who consumed silk peptide can recall information 2.7 times faster than those who consumed DHA.
These students drank 10mg of silk peptide dissolved in a glass of milk daily for 30 days.
“High school students (in Japan) are studying very hard to enter a university, just like those in China and Korea. They try to pass the entrance examination and I will like to help them,” Nakajima explained when asked the reasons for targeting the high school students.
Ten years in the making
The firm took more than 10 years to research and develop silk peptide, Nakajima said.
The silk peptide is made when silk is decomposed using a patented enzyme technology.
“Because our product improves memory, I will also aim to sell the supplement for dementia prevention in the future,” he added.
