Benefits
Memory support
In a small placebo-controlled, double-blind human study, a silk fibroin enzymatic hydrolysate produced dose-dependent improvements in memory test scores in healthy adults, the basis for the ingredient's memory positioning.
Learning and recall
Study participants showed gains in learning, the number of words remembered, and retrieval efficiency, suggesting support for everyday memory performance.
Antioxidant neuroprotection
Silk fibroin peptides show antioxidant activity that may help protect brain cells from oxidative stress, as observed in laboratory and animal research.
Mechanism of action
Antioxidant brain protection
Silk fibroin peptides reduce reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress in brain tissue in laboratory and animal models, a proposed basis for their memory effects.
Neuroprotective support
In animal studies, the silk peptide BF-7 reduced ischemic brain-cell damage while supporting learning and memory, consistent with a neuroprotective mechanism.
Clinical trials
Placebo-controlled, double-blind study of a silk fibroin enzymatic hydrolysate at 280 to 600 mg per day for 3 weeks. (Kang et al. 2018, Nutrients)
Healthy adults (average age about 55).
The fibroin hydrolysate produced dose-dependent improvements in memory quotient and related memory measures versus placebo, with no adverse effects reported.