Comedian and actor Hannah Gadsby made a joke on her hit show Nanette that she described as: [pause for dramatic effect] “tired”. This particularly struck me in a monologue that resonated with so many harsh truths.
The common refrain is that most of us are exhausted, have trouble sleeping, can’t concentrate, and can’t even accomplish simple tasks without a surprising amount of procrastination.
Therefore, it is no surprise that a large and lucrative market has emerged dealing in so-called “natural” brain boosters or nootropics; Over-the-counter supplements, drinks, and other products that claim to improve brain health and cognitive performance, boost memory, reduce fatigue, improve mood, and even slow age-related neurodegeneration. According to some estimates, the market, which is currently worth US$ 2.2 billion worldwide, is expected to reach US$ 4.4 billion by 2032.
The list of brain-enhancing ingredients in these products, from beverages to cookies, ranges from familiar ones like caffeine to lesser-known ones; Products like ayahuasca, ashwagandha, bacopa, and L-theanine. Some have been discovered recently, while others have probably been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years.
But as with many over-the-counter products, there’s a big question mark over whether any of them have enough scientific evidence to back up their claims.
Relating to: Research shows people who use ‘smart drugs’ perform worse at complex tasks
The short answer, according to Prof Kaarin Anstey, director of the UNSW Futures of Aging Institute, is that they don’t. “A lot of studies have been done on supplements, and the conclusion is that they are not worth investing in,” says Anstey.
This does not mean that nootropic chemicals and compounds found in foods or beverages do not have effects on the brain and central nervous system; because anyone who has ever drank too much coffee or taken a guarana-based energy drink tries to get everything done. -night work marathon can prove it. There is growing evidence that some plant-derived compounds affect the brain in various ways. Researchers are taking a closer look at these mechanisms in the hope that they may lead to better prevention or treatment of age-related neurodegeneration and diseases such as dementia. But when it comes to promoting a healthy brain with supplements, the gap between what scientific evidence indicates and what companies claim is particularly widening.
I actually avoid taking supplements because I am very aware of the lack of information.
For a ‘natural’ brain booster product to be listed on the Australian Therapeutic Goods Register, manufacturers only need to demonstrate that all of the ingredients in their product are permitted in Australia; It is produced according to the principles of good manufacturing practices; and that the health claims made were within the range of ‘low level indications’ determined by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. This is true for claims like helping the mind relax, improving brain health, improving cognitive performance, and reducing cognitive fatigue.
Companies don’t actually have to provide evidence that the product does what it claims. This is very different from the more stringent requirements for licensed and prescription medicines, where detailed clinical evidence of their effectiveness and safety must be provided before approval.
“I actually avoid taking supplements because I’m aware of the lack of information,” says Dr Katrina Green, a neuropharmacologist at the University of Wollongong. His research focus is on what he calls ‘nutritional psychiatry’, searching for plant-based compounds that have psychoactive effects of all kinds and investigating the mechanisms of this effect.
This lack of knowledge extends to understanding the full neurological effects of nootropics. “It’s a psychoactive substance, but regulations on these substances are much more flexible, and we have little idea what their effects on the brain might be.”
Green also worries that many of these products are being marketed to people in their late teens and early adulthood. “This is a period when the final maturation of the brain occurs,” Green says. He says that use of any neuroactive product, legal or illegal, during this time “can alter the neurodevelopmental trajectory leading to further disease.”
‘Nature may have better answers’
But the prospect of discovering new compounds that could alter brain development, chemistry and function is exciting, especially given that dementia is now the leading cause of death in women and is on track to become the same in men. Despite decades of research, there is still no effective treatment, let alone cure, for dementia.
Mental illness is also a modern epidemic; More than four in ten Australians have experienced mental health problems at some point in their lives, and 18% of Australians took a prescription mental health medication in 2021-22.
This is the reason for Green’s interest in this field. He began his career studying traditional psychopharmacological treatments, such as prescription antipsychotic and antidepressant medications, but soon felt that this field of medicine was hitting a roadblock. “Fundamentally, we haven’t made much progress since the fifties,” she argues. “So I started thinking that maybe the traditional kind of white powder wasn’t the way to do it, and that nature might have better answers for us.”
One of her recent studies reported on the levels of neuroprotective compounds (especially those that reduce oxidative stress linked to inflammation) in foods such as queen garnet plum, cloves, elderberry, lemon balm, and sage. This study suggested that many of these foods either reduce the negative effects of oxidative stress on SH-Sy5Y nerve cells, help strengthen these cells after experiencing oxidative stress, or neutralize substances that cause oxidative stress.
Professor Frédéric Meunier, a neurophysiologist at the Queensland Brain Institute, has been investigating the nootropic activity of the Lion’s Mane mushroom. Hericium erinaceus. Even in the fantasy world of mycology, the Lion’s Mane is a strange thing; It resembles a somewhat pale hairy brain.
In addition to treating cells in the hippocampus (the area of the brain associated with memory) with various compounds isolated from the fungus, Meunier and his colleagues are feeding mice varying concentrations of the fungus.
Mice fed mushroom extracts were more curious and performed better on memory tests. But the mouse studies don’t predict results in humans, and yet the study’s findings are a long way from developing something that boosts cognition or memory or prevents age-related losses. However, Meunier hopes to establish a research center specifically focused on healthy brain aging to identify and test compounds that improve cognitive memory and strengthen the brain against aging.
Prof Nenad Naumovski, a researcher in human nutrition at the University of Canberra, says one of the difficulties in studying the possible benefits of nootropics is that even if they do have a clinical effect, it is likely to be small.
“It is very difficult to study very large physiological changes in these types of products, like you would expect to see in drugs,” Naumovski says.
Instead, researchers are looking for clues of smaller benefits in brain chemistry that may increase over time; such as increasing antioxidant levels, which some think may reduce brain inflammation associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, including dementia and multiple sclerosis.
One compound that has emerged as an interesting candidate is L-theanine. It is an amino acid (most commonly known as the building blocks of proteins) and is found in particularly high levels in green tea, which also contains caffeine, but at lower levels than in coffee.
L-theanine is one of the more studied natural nootropics, especially in combination with caffeine. Research suggests this can improve attention, memory, and distraction levels.
“Once consumed, once it crosses the blood-brain barrier, it stimulates the production of alpha waves in the brain, which is also associated with a sense of alertness but calmness,” says Naumovski. The combination of L-theanine and caffeine in green tea seems to be key, he says, because L-theanine interacts with caffeine, reducing the impact on heart rate, but not the ‘kick’ of caffeine. Naumovski and colleagues are currently investigating whether L-theanine in green tea benefits sleep and are recruiting participants for a clinical trial in Canberra called the THESleep Project.
Supplements and balanced diet
Perhaps the strongest evidence for the power and effectiveness of plant-based nootropics comes from consuming them in their original form (e.g., fresh fruits and vegetables) as part of a balanced, healthy diet, says Anstey. “There are many nutrients in fruits and vegetables that are neuroprotective,” he says, and they have positive effects on almost every aspect of health.
Like the search for a medical silver bullet to solve complex problems such as mental fatigue or dementia, the answer often lies in following a healthy diet.
Green’s research on natural nootropics had an impact on his eating habits. She tries to include as many purple foods as possible in her family’s diet, but also focuses on putting lots of different colored plant foods on the plate, too.
“It’s about changing the trajectory,” Anstey says. “A healthy diet can slow some of these processes or stop them from starting.”