- A new study from Japan has shown that mixed antioxidants can improve cognition and memory while suppressing age-related muscle decline in mice.
- The antioxidant mixture used in the study was supplied by a supplement marketed in Japan.
- However, experts do not recommend inventing your own mixed antioxidants by combining supplements, as such experiments at home can be dangerous.
- The cognitive benefits of mixed antioxidants have been observed in mouse studies, but so far there have been no significant studies of their effects in humans.
A new study in mice finds that supplements containing a mixture of antioxidants can improve spatial cognition, short-term memory and—surprisingly—muscle endurance in older mice.
Antioxidants help promote cell health by reducing the excess of unstable free radical molecules that can damage healthy cells. Although free radicals occur naturally, too many of them can wreak havoc on healthy cells, causing what’s called oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is linked to a wide range of health problems.
Antioxidants are molecules that can help inhibit or prevent damage to cells in the body. They are often found in plants and some are found in the human body, although there are also synthetic antioxidants consumed as supplements.
Researchers in Japan used a mixed antioxidant product, Twendee X, a product currently on the market in that country. It contains eight different types of antioxidants and was formulated by Professor Haruhiko Inufusa of the Antioxidant Research Department, Research and Innovation Center at Gifu University in Japan.
For the new study, 18-month-old genetically modified mice were given a mixed antioxidant in water that they were allowed to drink or not drink as they wished for a month.
Their spatial cognition and short-term memory improved during the test period, as measured by their success in
Treadmill tests showed that by the end of the study, the mixed antioxidant mice increased their running distance significantly more than their normal, control counterparts who did not receive the mixed antioxidants.
Further attempts to train mice on treadmills with additional supplementation showed no noticeable effects between the two groups, suggesting that the mixed antioxidant may not improve exercise capacity or strength, but may help prevent age-related muscle breakdown.
In a post-mortem examination of the brains of mice with mixed antioxidants, the researchers observed significant reductions in aspartate aminotransferase, an enzyme indicative of muscle damage, alanine aminotransferase, and total cholesterol levels.
The study was published in MDPI.
Mixed antioxidants are supplements that combine multiple antioxidants. Their purported benefit is cognitive enhancement. There have been several studies investigating their value, but as noted by Michelle Rutenstein, a registered dietitian and nutritionist at EntirelyNourished.com, so far clinical studies have only been conducted in mice.
When asked if mixed antioxidants were safe, the study’s first author, Dr. Kuji Fukui, stated simply that, “This mixed supplement is already on the market. Anyone can buy it. I also drink it every day.”
Both Fukui and Rutenstein cautioned against creating your own blend of antioxidants from existing supplements, even though “a combination of them produces a greater effect than a single one,” Fukui said.
“It’s nearly impossible for average users to pick a few supplements and stick with them. “Excessive intake of some vitamins can be a problem,” Fukui said. He noted that TwendeeX also “contains amino acids in addition to vitamins, which I think is an interesting combination.”
Rutenstein agreed, saying, “There are safety concerns with home antioxidant blends, such as challenges in ensuring accurate dosing, potential drug interactions, contamination, and the risk of toxicity, especially with fat-soluble antioxidants, due to excessive intake.”
However, Rutenstein said that “for research purposes, it’s easier to estimate [blended antioxidants’] effect and compliance when formulated in specific doses and administered in a clinically controlled and researched procedure.
Can I get these antioxidants from foods?
One can safely replicate the mixed effect by eating a combination of foods that contain different antioxidants.
Antioxidants are readily available in a variety of healthy foods. These include broccoli, carrots, potatoes and sweet potatoes.
Cabbage, lettuce, asparagus and squash are also great sources. Blueberries, strawberries, pecans, artichokes, kale, raspberries, spinach, and okra are also rich in antioxidants, as are beets, beans, and dark chocolate.
Antioxidants have been repeatedly found in studies to support cognitive abilities, and thus the study’s finding that spatial memory and short-term memory benefited from mixed antioxidants was not unexpected, at least in mice.
Fukui, however, expressed surprise at his study’s finding that they also appear to suppress age-related declines in muscle strength.
“Muscle strength declines with aging, but our compounding supplement prevents this decline,” he said.
Fukui pointed out that aging is associated with frailty and sarcopenia, so the finding may be related to [Coenzyme Q10] and amino acid constituents in TwendeeX. “This may have had a positive effect on mitochondria and muscle tissue,” he said.
Although the findings are promising, it is also too early to generalize the results to humans.
“Antioxidants can help alleviate exercise-induced oxidative stress in muscles, potentially aiding recovery, which can help strengthen muscles. However, more research is needed to confirm these effects of mixed antioxidants in human trials,” Rutenstein said.
How Mixed Antioxidants Can Help Brain Fog
One of the symptoms associated with prolonged COVID is “brain fog,” a dulling of cognitive abilities that can cause a significant change in quality of life.
“It was assumed that [blended antioxidants] it can also be effective against the effects of coronavirus. The main premise is that they have an antioxidant effect,” Fukui added.
