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Updated: Jun 21, 2025
A High-performance Liquid Chromatography Measurement of Kynurenine and Kynurenic Acid: Relating Biochemistry to Cognition and Sleep in Rats
Published on: August 19, 2018
Nutraceutical composition (yeast β-glucan, prebiotics, minerals, and silymarin) predicts improvement of sleep quality
Aline Boveto Santamarina1, Victor Nehmi Filho2, Jéssica Alves de Freitas2
1Laboratório de Produtos e Derivados Naturais, Laboratório de Investigação Médica-26 (LIM-26), Departamento de Cirurgia, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 01246903, Brazil; Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Efeom Nutrição S/A, São Paulo, SP 03317-000, Brazil; Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Santos, SP 11015-020, Brazil.
Background & Aims:
The search for integrative and natural therapies that favor homeostasis to boost sleep and diet quality took place for young adult populations as a non-pharmacological strategy for long-term good quality of life. Thus, the present pilot study aims to investigate the effects of 90-day consumption of a nutraceutical composition on the neuro-immune-endocrine axis, providing better sleep quality and health improvement.
Methods:
For this, from March 2021 to June 2021, twenty-two Brazilian young adult volunteers (women and men) with BMI between 18.5 and 34.9 kg/m2 were divided into three distinct supplementation groups: NSupple; NSupple plus_S, and NSupple plus. Briefly, the supplement compositions included yeast β-glucan, prebiotics, and minerals in different concentrations associated or not with the herbal medicine silymarin. Neither nutritional nor physical activity interventions were performed during this pilot study period. The anthropometrics measures, questionnaires answer data, and harvest blood for metabolic, inflammatory, and hormonal tests were collected at baseline time (day zero-T0) and day 90 (T90) post-supplementation.
Results:
Our results highlight that the supplementation reduced body mass index (BMI), Waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), waist circumference, AST/ALT ratio, alkaline phosphatase, and HbA1c. Post-supplementation the IL-6 and IL-10 levels and the sleep, humor, and quality of life scores were suggested to improve. Sleep quality improvement seems to predict the reduction of adiposity-related body measures.
Conclusion:
In sum, the nutraceutical supplementation might be related to anthropometric, metabolic, and endocrine parameters after 90 days reflecting on perception of humor, sleep, and life quality enhancement. However, it is important to recognize the limitation of the data presented considering that this was a pilot study.
Clinical Trial Registration:
ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT04810572 registered on 20th February 2021.
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