The extract is an ingredient produced by Korean health functional food firm Huons Foodience, which is part of the healthcare firm Huons Group.
The ingredient was recognised as an Individually Approved Health Functional Food (IAFF), the company announced on January 6.
Ingredients which are not listed in the Health Functional Food Code will need to undergo individual assessment and approval by the MFDS before they can be used.
According to the company, the ingredient has been shown to significantly improve attention and memory scores following 12 weeks of supplementation.
The study was conducted on adults aged 50 to 80 with subjective cognitive decline.
After taking the extract at 600mg daily, it was reported that the attention and memory scores were significantly improved as compared to the placebo group, as demonstrated in the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) test.
Based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the intervention group also reported a significant increase in cortical thickness in the left brain – which is correlated with improved cognitive function.
This is because cerebral cortex is the surface of the brain where nerve cells are clustered, and an increase of this area means the increment in the number of nerve cells, said the firm.
A three-week animal study also showed a significant increase in the activity of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase, as well as reduced malondialdehyde concentrations – which is an indicator of oxidative stress – in mice given the extract. The mice were induced with memory impairment at the start of the study.
The findings were published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences in 2023.
Findings of another human clinical study, published in Nutrition Research and Practice in 2021, also reported blood sugar management effects in healthy individuals supplemented with the plant extract.
A total of 74 adults were randomised to take either 700mg of the extract or placebo for 12 weeks.
By the end of the study, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and insulin resistance were reported to have significantly decreased in the intervention group as compared to the placebo.
Also known as Hwangchil or Mokchae in Korean, Dendropanax Morbifera is a subtropical evergreen tree which grows in the southwestern province of Korea and Jeju island.
The extract from different parts of the plant contains various biologically active materials, including polyphenol and polyacetylene compounds.
With the approval by MFDS, the company said it hoped to develop it into another well-known ingredient coming out of South Korea, just like how ginseng and red ginseng were
“Dendropanax Morbifera is a unique tree species that grows only in the southern coast of Korea and has various functionalities.
“Through further research, we would like to enlarge its functionality and develop this ingredient into a representative functional ingredient in Korea like ginseng and red ginseng,” said Dong-chul Son, CEO of Huons Foodience.
