A recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology evaluated bergamot, a compound in citrus fruit, for improving brain function in patients with schizophrenia.
Bergamot is almost exclusively grown in Calabria (Italy), along the southern coast of Italy. This citrus fruit is rich in polyphenols including (neoeriocitrin, neohesperidin, naringin, rutin, neodesmin, rhoifolin, and poncirin.
Studies have suggested that bergamot can decrease inflammation through a SIRT-1 (i.e. sirtuin-1) that inhibits NF-kb (nuclear factor-kappa B).
This mechanism suggests it may improve brain function in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Here are the study details
Study Design: 8-week, open-label, preliminary study aimed to evaluate the efficacy on cognition of adjunctive bergamot.
Dose:
Each capsules contained 55 mg of neoeriocitrin, 58 mg of naringin, 62 mg of neohesperidin, and 7 mg of melitidin and 24 mg of brutieridin.
*No additional drugs were allowed during the study.
The study was completed at University Hospital of Messina, Italy.
Patients: Twenty outpatients, 15 men and 5 women, aged 20 to 58 years, who met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 criteria for schizophrenia.
Here are more clinical trials with bergamot for health promotion.
Patient Assessment: Patients were assessed using Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Cognitive/executive functioning was assessed with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST),16 the Verbal Fluency Task, Italian translation (phonemic fluency: letters P/L/F; semantic fluency: fruits/animals/clothes),17 and the Stroop Color-Word Test.
Here are the results
Seventeen patients completed the study (85% completion rate); there were 3 premature dropouts, 1 due to treatment-emergent adverse effects (heartburn) and 2 because of noncompliance with the visits.
At end point, (week 8) BPF supplementation significantly improved WCST “perseverative errors” (P = 0.004) and semantic fluency test (P = 0.004). Moreover, a trend for other cognitive variable (WCST “categories,” phonemic fluency, and Stroop Color-Word Test) improvement was observed.
Here are what the authors had to say
To our knowledge, this is the first report of a clinical trial with BPF supplementation and cognition in patients with schizophrenia.
and
In the present open-label, uncontrolled trial we found that BPF administration was associated with a substantial improvement of cognitive executive functioning, particularly WCST domains, except for categories, and semantic fluency, a subtask of the verbal fluency.
Take away message
The mechanism of polyphneols for neuroprotective activities is associated with increases in antioxidant capacity (e.g. increasing antioxidant enzyme activity) but may also be decreasing apoptotic activity, and affecting additional pathways involved in neuron survival, differentiation, proflieration, and apoptosis. Inflammation is critical in almost every disease state. Here are clinical trials evaluating natural plant products for decreasing inflammation.
There are several limitations of this study including an open label design, however, this study might begin to suggest that bergamot polyphenols may improve brain function (i.e. cognition) in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. More rigorous studies beyond this pilot study as there are several limitations of the current study.
Here are more clinical trials on brain function and mental health.
Reference
Bruno et al. Bergamot Polyphenolic Fraction Supplementation Improves Cognitive Functioning in Schizophrenia: Data From an 8-Week, Open-Label Pilot Study. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology 2017; Volume 37 (Issue 4): Pages 468-471.
His research on plant medicine has led to more than 45 publications and abstracts.This research has been presented at international meetings in the USA, France, Turkey, Peru, Israel, Austria, and Italy.
Categories: Brain, Clinical Trials, Inflammation, Mental Health