PLT Health Solutions received a license from the Natural and Non-Prescription Health Products Directorate (NNHPD) of Health Canada to market its ingredient, Nutricog Cognitive Performance Complex, to support cognitive health in Canada.
 
Nutricog is a patented combination of Haritaki (Terminalia cehbula) and Boswellia (Boswellia serrata) standardized to gallic acid, ellagic acid, and amyrins.
 
In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, Nutricog supplementation was associated with significant improvements compared to placebo in a cognitive battery test, specifically including learning, memory, sustained attention, working memory, and executive function. Increases in cognitive speed were seen concurrently with improvements in accuracy while multitasking.
 
The list of claims approved by Health Canada for Nutricog include:
 
Helps to support cognitive health and/or brain function
Helps to support memory
Helps to support brain function
Helps to support working memory and immediate recall
Helps to support cognitive function such as (selective) attention
Helps support cognitive function in older people
Helps to support verbal and visual memory
Helps to support learning ability
Helps to support selective attention
Helps to support working memory
Helps to support sleep quality, over time
 
The Health Canada approval is significant because of what it represents for the science supporting Nutricog, said Seth Flowerman, president and CEO of PLT Health Solutions.
 
“The broad range of cognitive performance benefits demonstrated in our clinical study make it ideal to support memory products, focus and attention products, general brain products and more,” Flowerman said. “Health Canada has a high bar for clinically supported health claims, and we are proud of the quality of science supporting this innovative and breakthrough ingredient.”
 
Study Details
 
In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study on Nutricog, 100 healthy male and female subjects between the ages of 40 and 65 took either a placebo or Nutricog daily for 120 days. They were assessed for performance improvements in the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB). Other measures included the Athens Insomnia Scale and biomarker testing for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).
 
Improvements included:
A 1.4-times improvement in Immediate Recall;
A 2.3-times improvement in Delayed Recall;
A 1.6-times improvement in Overall Learning;
A 2.7-times improvement in Learning Rate;
A 11.5-times improvement in Focus;
A 2.1-times improvement in Recognition Index;
A 2-times improvement in BDNF.
 
The range of benefits seen in the clinical study suggest that the ingredient is suitable for a wide range of products, according to Jerremy Appleton, ND, director of medical and scientific affairs at PLT. “The power of these clinical results is not just that Nutricog showed significance in such a broad array of areas, but the amount of change versus placebo that was demonstrated,” he said. “The market size and potential for knowledge workers alone, which includes over 100 million people, speaks to huge number of people who can benefit from this ingredient.”