Effects of compound preparations containing docosahexenoic acid from marine algae or from fish oil on memory ability of children

Abstract

Objective To study the effects of compound preparations which contain docosahexenoic acid (DHA),soybean lecithin,and vitamin A on memory ability of children and to compare the difference between two compound preparations that contain DHA from marine algae and from fish oil.Methods Totally 160 11-12-year-old healthy children who were studying in a primary school in Baoshan District of Shanghai were enrolled in this study.All the subjects signed the informed consent form.Subjects were randomly divided into three groups with random numbers:marine algae DHA group(n=53),fish oil DHA group(n=53),and control group(n=54).Subjects in the marine algae DHA group were given compound preparation which contained DHA form marine algae,soybean lecithin,and vitamin A;subjects in fish oil DHA group were given compound preparation which contained DHA form fish oil,soybean lecithin,and vitamin A.The dose of DHA(200 mg DHA per capsule)and other components in the two groups was equal.Subjects in the control group were given a placebo with same appearance.The trial lasted 30 days.Each subject took a capsule per day.Immediately before and after the trial,subjects were tested by using the clinical memory scale compiled by the Institute of Clinical Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.Results Before the trial.there was no difference amongthree groups in terms of all items of clinical memory scale or memory quotient(all P>0.05).After the trial,except for associative learning(both P>0.05),the other items of the clinical memory scale and memory quotient in both marine algae DHA group and fish oil DHA group were significantly higher than those of control group(all P 0.05).Conclusions DHA compounds can impreve the memory ability of children.DHAs with different sources have similar effect on memory ability. Key words: Docosahexenoic acid; Children; Memory ability