Mangifera Indica

Why do people use Mangifera Indica?

Mangifera Indica extracts are usually used for:

• Energy
• Focus
• Mood
• Memory

New 2020 Placebo-Controlled Study Suggests Mango Leaf Extract Improves Cognitive Performance in Healthy People

A study titled "Acute Effects of a Polyphenol-Rich Leaf Extract of Mangifera indica L. (Zynamite) on Cognitive Function in Healthy Adults: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Crossover Study" was published on the 23rd of July 2020 in the journal Nutrients [1].

The effects of 300 mg mango leaf extract on mood and various aspects of cognitive performance compared with a placebo in healthy humans were examined.

Purpose of the study

Previous animal research has shown that the polyphenol compound mangiferin, an active ingredient in the mango leaf extract, can protect the brain and enhance cognitive performance and affective states even in healthy subjects.

This study is the first of its kind and aimed to explore the potential mood-boosting and cognitive-enhancing effects of Zynamite.

Standardization of the Mango Leaf Extract

The extract used in this study contained the following active ingredients:

"Zynamite® mango leaf extract is comprised of components within the following ranges: mangiferin - 60–65%; homomangiferin - 3–5%; isomangiferin - up to 1%; leaf polysaccharides - 6–20%; hydrolysable and non-hydrolysable tannins - up to 1%; fibre, minerals, moisture - 6 to 15%."

Study design

The study was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, balanced crossover design trial.

That the study was a double-blind trial means that for each time a participant took a pill, they were unaware of whether they received a placebo, and so were the researchers. The placement of participants into different groups was also out of the control of both the researchers and participants (grouping was randomised). All participants received both the placebo and the mango extract, with half receiving placebo first and the other half the mango leaf extract. The participants were given the other intervention on their next visit during another day (this is called a crossover design). 

The 70 participants that finished the study had an average age of 26.9 years, and around half of them were female.

Psychological tests

The mood and cognitive performance of the participants were measured 30 min, 3h, and 5h after the ingestion of either placebo or Zynamite.

All cognitive tasks used in this study have been tested and validated before in healthy humans and proven sensitive to changes in cognitive performance enhancement resulting from nutritional interventions.

There were many tests used in this study. It took participants 60 minutes to complete the assessment which consisted of both mood and cognitive performance measures.

The Computerised Mental Performance Assessment System was used as the for cognitive testing. There were many tests used to extensively measure many specific aspects of cognitive functioning. The Cognitive Demand Battery (CDB) was used for measuring the effects of mango leaf extract on speed and accuracy of performance in cognitively demanding tasks - and how quickly participants got fatigued and started performing worse in these tasks. Psychological constructs measured by CDB include working memory, executive functioning, and attention.

Participants also had their mood assessed before, and stress levels assessed after, the completion of the cognitive tasks. This testing protocol was used to assess the acute cognitive and affective effects of Zynamite in general, but also the ability of the extract to preserve high energy levels and prevent mental fatigue for people using it.

Results

Zynamite improved the accuracy of overall cognitive functioning across all timepoints. There were no beneficial effects from the mango extract supplement on the speed of cognitive performance or mood measures.

The authors of the study reason that the across-the-board enhancement on measures of working memory (ability to store and manipulate information in ones mind), episodic memory (recall of events), and attention accuracy could be due to an underlying enhancement of attention. Episodic memory and working memory are tightly related to a persons attention. It appears that Zynamite enhances working and episodic memory through boosting a person's ability to pay attention to details. However, there were enhancement of tests scores from use of the mango leaf extract not attributable to attentional processes. The enhancement of working memory and executive functions observed strengthened the researchers confidence that Zynamite enhances cognitive performance more broadly.

"There were no significant adverse events that could be linked to administration of the treatments and no significant difference in the incidence of minor adverse events (e.g., mild headache) between the placebo and mango leaf extract treatments."

Conclusion

The researchers concisely summarized their findings:

"In the current study a single dose of mango leaf extract (Zynamite®) lead to significant, broad improvements in performance across a battery of cognitive tasks throughout the 6 h following consumption. There were no interpretable benefits found for any measure of mood/psychological state."

Mango leaf extract use appears free from negative side effects.

It can be concluded that mango leaf extract did affect general cognitive performance in this well-designed healthy human placebo-controlled study. The use of mango leaf extract, specifically ones standardized to high mangiferin contents such as Zynamite, can likely be effective as a supplement for cognitive enhancement.