May 19, 2021
Keio University
A research group led by Professor Satoshi Umeda of the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Letters, Keio University, and Yasuhisa Ano, principal investigator at the Kirin Central Research Institute, R&D Division, Kirin Holdings Company, Limited, has confirmed in a randomized controlled trial with healthy middle-aged and older adults that β-lactolin, a milk-derived peptide that improves cognitive function, enhances neural activity in the region from the frontal to the parietal lobe. This was determined through electroencephalography (EEG) measurements during cognitive tasks requiring concentration. These research findings contribute to elucidating the neural basis of cognitive improvement by β-lactolin.
According to previous epidemiological studies in Japanese populations, the consumption of milk and dairy products is said to reduce the risk of dementia. In recent research, β-lactolin was discovered as a cognitive-improving peptide found abundantly in fermented dairy products such as Camembert cheese. The research group has previously reported in randomized controlled trials that β-lactolin improves memory and attention functions in humans. However, the effects of β-lactolin on human neural activity had not yet been verified.
Therefore, in this study, a randomized controlled trial was conducted with healthy middle-aged and older adults. To verify the effects of β-lactolin intake on neural activity, event-related potentials (ERPs) were measured using a 64-channel electroencephalograph. As a result, it was confirmed that in the β-lactolin group, compared to the placebo group, the amplitude of the P300 event-related potential—an indicator of concentration during auditory presentation tasks—was statistically significantly increased at electrodes in the region from the frontal to the parietal lobe.
With these results, it is hoped that solutions based on scientific evidence through dietary habits will be developed to address societal challenges related to brain health in a super-aging society.
The results of this research were published online in the international academic journal "Journal of Alzheimer's Disease" on May 18, 2021 (Greenwich Mean Time).
For the full press release, please see below.