Singapore, Sept. 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- [Singapore, 6 September 2018] Researchers from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand recently conducted the largest ever clinical study on BRAND’S Essence of Chicken (BEC). In this study, BEC was compared against a placebo protein drink. The study, published in Nutrients*, a peer-reviewed open access journal of human nutrition, concluded that consumption of BEC improves working memory among healthy adults. Furthermore, healthy people with higher levels of everyday stress experience greater benefit in memory improvement.
BRAND’S Essence of Chicken Improves Working Memory in Healthy Adults
BEC consumption was shown to improve working memory in healthy adults, particularly in challenging memory tasks. Figure 1 shows that study participants consuming BEC improved by 8.5% from their baseline scores, with benefits seen within the first week of daily consumption.
Working memory is the ability to remember new information while using it in some way and it is crucial to everyday function. For example, for students answering a multiple choice question, working memory is used to remember the question and all options while deciding on the correct answer. For executives, working memory is used during meetings to remember facts and figures presented for decision-making.
Refer to Figure 1.
Hence, consumption of BEC can help healthy adults hold and process information better in their daily life with an enhanced working memory performance.
Participants with Higher Stress Levels See Greater Memory Benefit with BRAND’S Essence of Chicken Consumption
Researchers also found that in participants with higher stress levels, BEC consumption improved memory performance even in simple memory tasks, in addition to the challenging tasks. Thus, people who have higher levels of stress may experience greater benefits from BEC consumption.
Figure 2(a) shows that moderately stressed participants consuming BEC improved memory by 10% from their baseline scores in the simple memory task. Figure 2(b) shows an even larger improvement of 20% among severely stressed participants.
“These study findings support that BEC consumption can improve working memory in healthy adults and particularly when there is a higher level of daily life stress,” concluded the researchers from Chulalongkorn University who conducted the study.
To date, this is the largest clinical study ever done to measure the effectiveness of BEC on cognitive function improvement. In this study, participants consumed 2 bottles of BEC per day. Three earlier BEC studies have used 1 bottle per day dosage and have similarly shown improved working memory as well.# As cognition comprises many different functions, e.g. memory, planning, creativity, the sponsors of this study intend to continue to explore the potential beneficial enhancement effects of BEC.
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Funding: Study funding was provided by Cerebos Pacific Limited trading as BRAND’S Suntory Asia.
Acknowledgments: Essence of Chicken (EC) used in this study was a commercially available preparation (BRAND’S Essence of Chicken). Both EC and placebo products were provided by Cerebos Pacific Limited trading as BRAND’S Suntory Asia. External consultants were consulted in study design and analysis of study data.
Conflicts of Interest: Study funding was provided by Cerebos Pacific Limited trading as BRAND’S Suntory Asia. The study sponsor provided input on study design by providing the background information of EC, dose and duration of EC treatment to be studied and outcome domains to be assessed. The study sponsor provided statistician support to run analyses under the direction of SN and contributed to the manuscript writing in the background review of previous EC studies, EC composition and discussion of previous EC study findings.
* Suttiwan, Panrapee, Pongsak Yuktanandana, and Sakkaphat Ngamake. “Effectiveness of Essence of Chicken on Cognitive Function Improvement: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.” Nutrients 10, no. 7 (June 29, 2018). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10070845. This is the largest clinical study conducted on the effectiveness of EC to date, with 235 participants. Of the 235 healthy adults from the Asian population who completed the study, there were 117 participants in the EC Group and 118 participants in the placebo group. In this study, participants drank 2 bottles of EC per day.
# Three earlier EC studies have used 1 bottle per day dosage and have similarly shown improved working memory as well:
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- Azhar, M. Z., J. O. Zubaidah, and K. O. N. Norjan. “Effect of Taking Chicken Essence on Cognitive Functioning of Normal Stressed Human Volunteers.” Malays. J. Med. Health Sci 4 (2008): 57–68.
- Zain, Azhar Md, and Syedmohsin Syedsahiljamalulail. “Effect of Taking Chicken Essence on Stress and Cognition of Human Volunteers.” Malaysian Journal of Nutrition 9, no. 1 (March 2003): 19–29.
- Benton, D., and H. A. Young. “The Effect of Chicken Essence on Cognition and Mood: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” Current Topics in Nutraceuticals Research 13, no. 2 (2015): 61-70
About BRAND’S Suntory Asia
The BRAND’S Suntory Group is a leading health supplements enterprise in Asia, and a division of Suntory Beverage and Food Asia Pte Ltd. Marketed under BRAND’S® and trusted by consumers for over 180 years, it has helped build a foundation of health for generations under its flagship brand BRAND’S® Essence of Chicken. With products sold in 19 countries, its key markets are Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. BRAND’S® prides itself for its spirit of innovation while staying true to its roots and purpose.
About Suntory Beverage & Food Asia
Suntory Beverage & Food Asia Pte Ltd (SBFA) is the Asia Pacific headquarters of Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd (SBF). Headquartered in Singapore, SBFA manages the regional business through 2 divisions – Beverage Division and Health Supplement Division (BRAND’S Suntory Asia), with many brands in leading positions in their respective national markets. We aim to continue creating products that are healthy, natural and valuable, bringing happiness and wellness into our consumers' lives.
For more information/media enquiries, please contact:
Diana Tan
Corporate Affairs
Suntory Beverage & Food Asia Pte Ltd
DID : +65 6212 0287
Email : Diana.Tan@suntory.com
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