Cognitive function improvement with astaxanthin and tocotrienol intake: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study

We examined the effects of the mixed ingestion of astaxanthin derived from Haematococcus pluvialis and tocotrienols on the cognitive function of healthy Japanese adults who feel a memory decline. Forty-four subjects were randomly but equally assigned to the astaxanthin-tocotrienols or placebo group. An astaxanthin-tocotrienols or placebo capsule was taken once daily before or after breakfast for a 12-week intervention period. The primary outcome was composite memory from the Cognitrax cognitive test, and the secondary outcomes were other cognitive functions and subjective symptoms for memory. Each group included 18 subjects in the efficacy analysis (astaxanthin-tocotrienols group, 55.4 ± 7.9 years; placebo group, 54.6 ± 6.9 years). The astaxanthin-tocotrienols group showed a significant improvement in composite memory and verbal memory in Cognitrax at Δ12 weeks compared with the placebo group. Additionally, the astaxanthin-tocotrienols group showed a significant improvement in the subjective symptom of “During the last week, have you had trouble remembering people’s names or the names of things?” compared with the placebo group after 12 weeks. No adverse events were observed in this study. The results demonstrated that taking an astaxanthin-tocotrienols combination improves the composite memory and verbal memory of Japanese adults who feel a memory decline (UMIN 000031758).