EFFECTS OF CONSUMING OF OYSTER EXTRACT DRINK CONTAINING 3,5-DIHYDROXY-4-METHOXYBENZYL ALCOHOL (DHMBA) ON STRESS, FATIGUE, AND SLEEP

Er Jin EIO¹, Emiko MIKI¹, Takayuki WATANABE¹, Masanobu KATAGIRI¹, Riko FUKUDA², Yoshihiro URADE³, Mitsugu WATANABE¹

¹Watanabe Oyster Laboratory Co., Ltd.　and 490-3, Shimoongata-Cho, Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan

²Hibiya Kokusai Clinic and 2-2-3 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, basement 1 floor, Tokyo, Japan.

³International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine, University of Tsukuba and 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki Japan.

e-mail: gakujutsu@oyster.co.jp

Key words: oyster extract, stress, fatigue, sleep, 3,5-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzyl alcohol

Objective:

The oyster drink “Watanabe Oyster Drink” contains essential amino acids and trace metals as well as 3,5-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzyl alcohol (DHMBA), a phenolic antioxidant. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of consuming of oyster extract drink containing 3,5-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzyl alcohol (DHMBA) on stress, fatigue, and sleep in adult volunteers who felt stress and fatigue.

Methods:

Total 84 healthy adults were recruited in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study. The participants were randomly divided into either the DHMBA-containing oyster extract drink (2 bottles) or placebo group. The respective test drinks were consumed daily for 4 weeks. The conditions of stress, fatigue, and sleep were evaluated by the Short form of Profile of Moods States (POMS-S), the Japanese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI-j), and the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS).

Results:

In POMS-S, the changes from pre-trial values of Depression score of oyster extract drink group at week 1 and week 4 was -17.5 ± 13.4 and -19.0 ± 11.8, respectively, the Fatigue score at week 1 and week 4 was -12.7 ± 10.4 and -16.5 ± 10.7, respectively, and the Confusion score at week 1 and week 4 was -13.2 ± 12.0 and -17.4 ± 12.5, respectively. The results showed that the Depression, Fatigue, and Confusion relieving effects of the DHMBA-containing oyster extract drink group increased with time of consumption. Furthermore, there was a significant improvement (P < 0.05) in self-reported of Depression, Vigor, Fatigue, and Confusion in DHMBA-containing oyster extract drink group than the placebo group. For validation, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Japanese version also showed significantly better (P < 0.05) in DHMBA-containing oyster extract drink group compared with placebo drink group. There were no adverse events related to the intake of the test drinks.

Conclusion:

Our results suggest that the intake of DHMBA-containing oyster extract drink alleviates mental stress and fatigue, and improves sleep.