title: Effect of dried-bonito broth on mental fatigue and mental task performance in subjects with a high fatigue score.
abstract: Dried-bonito broth is commonly employed as a soup and sauce base in Japanese cuisine and is considered to be a nutritional supplement that promotes recovery from fatigue. Previous human trials suggest that the ingestion of dried-bonito broth improves several mood states; however, its effect on fatigue has not yet been clarified. The aim of this study was to clarify the effects of daily ingestion of dried-bonito broth on fatigue and cognitive parameters by a placebo-controlled double blind crossover trial. Forty-eight subjects with fatigue symptoms ingested the dried-bonito broth or a placebo solution every day for 4 weeks. Mood states were evaluated by the Profile of Mood States (POMS), and mental task performance was evaluated by the Uchida-Kraepelin psychodiagnostic (UKP) test. Fatigue and total mood disturbance (TMD) scores on the POMS test decreased significantly during the dried-bonito broth ingestion (p<0.05), but did not change significantly during placebo ingestion. The change in vigor score during dried-bonito broth ingestion was significantly higher than that during placebo ingestion at 2 weeks (p<0.05). The results of the UKP test indicate that the numbers of both total answers and correct answers significantly increased during dried-bonito broth ingestion (p<0.05), while no significant changes were observed in the placebo ingestion. These results suggest that the daily ingestion of dried-bonito broth may improve the mood states, may reduce mental fatigue and may increase performance on a simple calculation task.
authors.affiliation: Processed Food Development & Technology Center, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., Kawasaki, Kanagawa, 210-8681, Japan. motonaka_kuroda@ajinomoto.com
authors.forename: Motonaka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuroda
authors.forename: Taichi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishizaki
authors.forename: Tomoaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Maruyama
authors.forename: Yoji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takatsuka
authors.forename: Tomifusa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kuboki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005221:Fatigue / Q000150:complications / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005396:Fish Products; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D005222:Mental Fatigue / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics