Memory Enhancing Activity of Silk Peptide

In recent years, specially prepared, proprietary silk fibroin protein enzymatic hydrolyzate (FPEH), used in daily doses of 200-400 mg, has been found to significantly improve cognitive function in normal, healthy people (Lee et al., 2004; Kim et al., 2010). In the study, subjects consumed placebo (dextrin) or 280, 400, 600 mg of purified, specially prepared FPEH daily in two divided doses, before meals in the morning and evening, for 3 weeks. Subjects completed the Rey-Kim Memory Test at baseline and after 3 weeks of treatment (Kim, 1999; Kim 2001). The verbal and shape recall skills of the memory were tested. When the groups of subjects who received different doses of the drug with placebo during the treatment were compared, it was shown that FPEH made significant and positive changes in memory.

Results show that 400 mg and 600 mg FPEH treatment group subjects remembered significantly more words than placebo group subjects and were able to retain words in memory after 3 weeks of supplementation. Improvement in the memory department, dose-dependent increases in the number of words remembered over time, and short-term memory improvement based on the ability to remember/draw a complex number were observed. As a result, it was seen that the maximum beneficial effect of FPEH on memory could be achieved with a dose in the range of 400-600 mg, and positive and promising results were recorded.