The first orally absorbable, all vegetarian Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) supplement, GliSODin, may reduce the loss of cognitive function linked to stress, according to a newly published study of animals from Japan. Mice fed the powerful-antioxidant supplement experienced lower levels of oxidative stress and performed better in a maze-memory, mental-function test after supplementation with the SOD supplement, according to results published in the journal Behavioural Brain Research.   Animals fed vitamin E also experienced lower levels of oxidative stress caused by stress, as measured by lowered levels of lipid peroxidation, but no beneficial effects were observed in terms of the vitamin E-supplemented animals’ spatial learning, according to researchers led by Sanae Nakajima from the Nippon Medical School in Kawasaki.

For every 10 microgram increase in the amount of Vitamin K2 consumed, researchers from the Netherlands report a 9 % reduction in the risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD). The effects were mostly confined to the higher forms of vitamin K2, namely Menaquinone 7 to 9. “Our findings may have important practical implications on CVD prevention, it is important to mention that in order to increase the intake of vitamin K2, increasing the portion vitamin K2 rich foods in daily life might not be a good idea,” wrote lead author Gerrie-Cor Gast from the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care at the University Medical Center Utrecht.

Nattokinase is an enzyme extracted from fermented foods; it is normally used as a blood thinner that helps protect blood vessel walls and improves blood pressure in heart patients. Nattokinase may also prevent the build up of amyloid plaques in the brain linked to Alzheimer’s disease according to new research. The enzyme was found to be able to degrade amyloid fibrils; the fine fibers that knit together and contribute to the formation of amyloid plaque that characterizes Alzheimer’s disease, according to results of a lab study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Extracts from the New Zealand green lipped mussel (Perna canaliculus) exert anti-inflammatory effects at a protein level, according to new research. Collating the most recent scientific research behind the potential benefits of the mussel extract Georges Halpern, the lead researcher from Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU) reports that the extract may decrease the synthesis of some proteins linked to inflammation.   According to the published findings the extract also helps control pain associated with arthritis, and it improves control of compounds called cytokines associated with inflammation.

Daily supplementation with the friendly intestinal bacterium Lactobacillus casei rhamnosus boosts the immune health of children preventing many infections according to new research. The researchers from Taiwan report that supplements of the probiotic led to an 18% reduction in the incidence of viral infections and a 17% reduction in the incidence of respiratory infections according to the study that included 986 children under the age of five.   The children were placed on either “no bacteria”, the one strain, or a combination of 12 bacterial strains (seven species of Lactobacillus, three types of bifidobacteria, one type of Streptococcus, and one type of Enterococcus).