CLINICAL TRIAL article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Clinical Nutrition
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1621516
This article is part of the Research TopicBrain Health Across the Lifespan: Nutritional Interventions and Physical Exercise for Healthy AgingView all 4 articles
An examination into the effects of tocotrienols (TheraPrimE ® rice) on cognitive abilities and sleep in healthy adults: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
Provisionally accepted
- 1Clinical Research Australia, Perth, Australia
- 2BGG Americas, Irvine, United States
- 3BGG, Beijing, China
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Background/Objectives: Tocotrienols are a form of vitamin E that may have neuroprotective effects. However, there have been no studies examining its effects on cognitive function when delivered as a stand-alone intervention. The purpose of this two-arm, 12-week, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was to examine the effects of supplementation with tocotrienols derived from rice bran (TheraPrimE® rice) on memory and sleep in adults with subjective memory complaints.Methods: Ninety-one adults aged 40 to 80 were supplemented with a placebo or 100 mg of tocotrienols daily. Outcome measures included the Test of Memory and Learning (version 2), and self-report questionnaires assessing executive function and sleep quality. Moreover, changes in blood markers associated with inflammation, oxidative stress, and neurotropic activity were examined.Results: Compared to the placebo, tocotrienol supplementation was associated with greater improvements in general memory (p = 0.045, 95% CI: 0.34, 32.21). Memory changes were primarily due to improvements in non-verbal memory (p = 0.039, 95% CI: 0.68, 26.63). However, there were no group differences in changes in verbal memory. Moreover, there were no group differences in changes in self-reported executive function, although there were greater improvements in sleep disturbance in the tocotrienols group (p = 0.015, 95% CI: -4.80, -0.55). An examination of blood markers revealed a statistically significant larger increase in Tumour Necrosis Factor-α in the placebo group (p = 0.043) and a larger increase in C-reactive protein (p = 0.039) in the tocotrienols group. Tocotrienols were not associated with any serious adverse reactions.Conclusions: This study is the first controlled study demonstratinges the cognitive-enhancing and sleep-promoting effects from of stand-alone supplementation with tocotrienols. However, future research is required to substantiate this study's results and examine the potential mechanisms of action.
Keywords: Tocotrienols, Vitamin E, Memory, Cognition, Sleep
Received: 01 May 2025; Accepted: 19 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lopresti, Smith, Ding, Li and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Adrian L Lopresti, Clinical Research Australia, Perth, Australia
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