Memory: a new dietary supplement on the market

For centuries we have treated ourselves with plants. And if in the West, modern medicine has dominated since the 19^andcentury, in Asia, plants are still widely acclaimed. I’Huperzia serrata, a fern native to Vietnam and southern China, has been used for centuries to treat memory disorders. But taken pure, its active ingredient can cause side effects. By combining it with two other molecules, researchers from a French start-up called Neuralia However, they would have succeeded in eliminating its undesirable effects while retaining its positive effects on the brain. They have thus developed a food supplement supposed to preserve memory and improve cognitive functions, the company announced in a press release published in early November. The product, NSP01, is now available in pharmacies.

“It took five years of research and development on pathological models of Alzheimer’s disease to develop our first dietary supplement, NSP01. Derived from a medicinal plant from Vietnam traditionally used against memory disorders, we were able to create and patent a standardized extract whose effect is driven by a unique synergy of certain plant molecules”says Dr. Noelle Callizot, neuropharmacologist and scientific director of Neuro-Sys in Gardanne (Bouches-du-Rhone), which demonstrated this synergy.

If the fern Huperzia serrata has beneficial properties for memory, it is thanks to the presence of huperzine A, an active ingredient that prevents the degradation of acetylcholine, essential for the proper functioning of the brain. But this one is not devoid of undesirable side effects. The Neuralia scientific team therefore had the idea of ​​combining this active principle with two other molecules of the plant, caffeic acid and ferulic acid.

Regulation by other molecules

“These molecules have been studied in vitro, each in isolation, then mixed, on embryonic rat neurons. Some of these neurons have been poisoned beforehand, others have not (the latter will serve as control neurons)”, explains the company in its press release. The researchers were thus able to observe that the contribution of these other molecules made it possible to considerably reduce the effective dose of huperzine A.

“In other words, with a tenth of the dose of huperzine A, it is possible to have the same beneficial effects on the intoxicated cells, on the condition of mixing it with other molecules of the same plant”, argue the researchers. Regulated by other molecules, huperzine A could therefore be used without danger, welcome the researchers who have therefore developed the food supplement NPS01.

“We have shown that there could be synergies between the molecules of the same plant, whereas until now, we were content to study the effects of the active ingredient, at the risk of excluding it from therapy. because of side effects related to too high doses. Many praise the virtues of traditional medicines without knowing their pharmacological mechanisms. The fact of having deciphered the modes of action according to scientific methods is undeniably a guarantee of obtaining optimized and suitably dosed products”, enthuses Dr. Jean-Thomas Pierson, research and development manager at Neuralia.

€47.90 for a pot of 60 capsules

The NSP01 was put on the French market on September 16. It is available on the Neuralia website and in pharmacies for €47.90 (jar of 60 capsules). The start-up, whose innovation benefits from an international patent, plans to launch it abroad for 2021.

Remember, however, that in no case can a food supplement replace a drug treatment decided with a doctor in the case of the appearance of real memory problems or signs of senile dementia.

Today in France, Alzheimer’s disease affects, directly or indirectly, nearly 3 million people, according to the France-Alzheimer foundation. And these figures are not ready to decrease, she worries. While nearly 225,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, our country will have 1,275,000 people affected in 2020.