title: Effect of the Antioxidant Supplement Pyrroloquinoline Quinone Disodium Salt (BioPQQ™) on Cognitive Functions.
abstract: Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) is a quinone compound first identified in 1979. It has been reported that rats fed a PQQ-supplemented diet showed better learning ability than controls, suggesting that PQQ may be useful for improving memory in humans. In the present study, a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded study to examine the effect of PQQ disodium salt (BioPQQ™) on cognitive functions was conducted with 41 elderly healthy subjects. Subjects were orally given 20 mg of BioPQQ™ per day or placebo, for 12 weeks. For cognitive functions, selective attention by the Stroop and reverse Stroop test, and visual-spatial cognitive function by the laptop tablet Touch M, were evaluated. In the Stroop test, the change of Stroop interference ratios (SIs) for the PQQ group was significantly smaller than for the placebo group. In the Touch M test, the stratification analyses dividing each group into two groups showed that only in the lower group of the PQQ group (initial score<70), did the score significantly increase. Measurements of physiological parameters indicated no abnormal blood or urinary adverse events, nor adverse internal or physical examination findings at any point in the study. The preliminary experiment using near-infrared spectrometry (NIRS) suggests that cerebral blood flow in the prefrontal cortex was increased by the administration of PQQ. The results suggest that PQQ can prevent reduction of brain function in aged persons, especially in attention and working memory.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kyoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hine
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.affiliation: CX Medical Japan Co., Inc., Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Uetake
authors.affiliation: Niigata Research Laboratory, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co., Inc., Niigata, Japan. masahiko-nakano@mgc.co.jp.
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Laboratory of Integrative Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Naohiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takemura
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Laboratory of Integrative Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan.|Department of Neurological Surgery, School of Medicine, Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kaoru
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sakatani
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000187:drug effects; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D045542:PQQ Cofactor / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D045542:PQQ Cofactor
keywords: Attention; Brain; Memory; PQQ; Supplement