A clinical trial published in the journal Nutrients found that a single dose of Zynamite, a supplement derived from mango trees formulated as an alternative to caffeine, resulted in significant improvements in a number of cognitive battery tests, and the effects were sustained from 30 minutes following a dosage to 5 hours post-supplementation. Specifically, Zynamite is an extract from mango leaves that is standardized to contain the polyphenol mangiferin at a level of 60%.
 
Cultures have traditionally used extracts from mango trees for centuries, notably for improved concentration and mental focus, in addition to a number of other perceived benefits.
 
The double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial enrolled 70 healthy adult men and women between the ages of 18 and 45. Each participant took a cognitive battery assessment on two separate occasions, one of which was after taking 300 mg of Zynamite, and another time after taking a matching placebo.
 
A battery of cognitive tests were performed by all of the participants pre-dose, 30 minutes, three hours, and five hours following supplementation, and the authors of the study observed significant improvements in COMPAS (Computerized Mental Performance Assessment System), including enhanced performance in the attention and memory assessments, which were sustained throughout the five-hour period.
 
“Participants performed more accurately on the tasks that measure concentration and memory, and were better at performing each of the mentally demanding tasks than after the placebo – these benefits were also seen across the time they stayed in the laboratory after taking a single dose,” the authors of the study said. “Clearly better concentration and improved memory are going to be important to all sorts of everyday mental functions.”
 
Professor David Kennedy, director of the Brain, Performance, and Nutrition Research Center at Northumbria University, added that while his team had previously seen general improvements to the speed of task performance across tasks with other plant extracts, “this study is the first where we saw accuracy improve markedly across the tasks that we used,” and that the study suggested “a very general boost to brain function.”
 
Dr. Nigel Gericke, director of science at Nektium Pharma, the makers of Zynamite, described the five-year discovery and R&D program behind the extract, including the need to find an ingredient with biological mechanisms that differed from caffeine.
 
“Our quest involved a global ethnobotanical research program, the exclusion of botanicals with caffeine-similar compounds, or compounds acting on the molecular targets of caffeine, and innovative screening using brain electrical (EEG) studies” Gericke said. “We are delighted that a single dose of Zynamite has been demonstrated to enhance cognitive functions including attention and memory in healthy younger adults, with a rapid onset of activity and a broader range of cognitive activities than caffeine.”
 
Miguel Jiménez, president and CEO of Nektrium Pharma, shared his excitement about the results of the study.
 
“We are fortunate to have been the first to identify the need for a next-generation natural nootropic and ergogenic ingredient,” Jiménez said. “Nektium subsequently made significant investments in preclinical and clinical research on Zynamite, which is now backed by 7 RCT clinical studies demonstrating brain activation on EEG, enhanced cognitive functinos, and ergogenic activities in sports performance studies.”
 
Previous EEG studies have indicated that mangiferin activates brain waves in an almost identical pattern to caffeine, despite the differences in activity within the body.
 
Zynamite is sourced from selective pruning of cultivated mango trees in tropical regions, as a byproduct of mango production which is ecologically sustainable.