Formulated Palmitoylethanolamide Supplementation Improves Parameters of Cognitive Function and BDNF Levels in Young, Healthy Adults: A Randomised Cross-Over Trial
Randomised controlled trialHumans
- Design
- Randomised controlled trial
- Subjects
- 54 healthy young adults recruited. 39 completed.
- Dose used in the study
- 700 mg a day of Levagen+
- Duration
- 6 weeks on each of palmitoylethanolamide and placebo, with a 6-week washout between
- What was measured
- Serum BDNF. Memory, attention and executive function on the CANTAB test battery.
What the authors reported
Serum BDNF rose more on palmitoylethanolamide than placebo (p = 0.0057, d = 0.62), with fewer errors on the Paired Associates Learning memory test (p = 0.0287); first-attempt success on the same task also improved but did not reach significance (p = 0.142). There was no effect on attention or executive function.
Limits of this study
27% of participants dropped out. The participants were healthy young adults. The link between the BDNF change and the memory scores was not statistically significant. Diet was not controlled. The study received funding from Gencor Pacific.
Source
PubMed 38398813 · doi:10.3390/nu16040489
Entry checked against the abstract on PubMed, and the full text at the publisher (MDPI) on 2026-10-19. The dose shown is the dose the researchers used. It is not a recommendation. How to read this page.