Grape King Bio drives research on cognitive benefits of award-winning mushroom ingredient

The company’s lion’s mane mushroom ingredient marketed as GK Heripene was awarded as the Ingredient of the Year: Cognitive Function in this year’s NutraIngredients-Asia Awards ceremony held in Bangkok on September 18.

It was up against Akay Bioactive’s patented curcumin complex CurQfen and Gencor’s Levagen+, which is palmitoylethanolamide made using the LipiSperse technology for increased bioavailability.

The award recognises the best ingredients dedicated to supporting cognition, memory, alertness, and other cognitive processes. Fifteen other awards were given out during the ceremony.

Lion’s mane mushroom is also known as Hericium erinaceus. ​

GK Heripene, in particular, could help support healthy ageing, slow down cognitive decline, as well as alleviate mild Alzheimer’s symptoms, based on clinical trial findings. 

The active compound of GK Heripene is erinacine-A.

Each gram of Hericium erinaceus ​is standardised to contain five mg of erinacine-A in GK Heripene.

Speaking to NutraIngredients-Asia, ​Dr Jenny Li, deputy section manager at Grape King Bio, said that one thing that set the GK Heripene apart, was its mechanism of action.

“​What it does is that it not only helps the neurons, but also oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, and microglia which are collectively known as the glial cells. ​

“​This is something that sets us apart.” ​

She added that the active compound could also cross the blood-brain barrier and could play a role in reducing neuron inflammation.

So far, animal tests and a human clinical study has been conducted using GK Heripene.  

The clinical study assessed the use of GK Heripene in preventing early Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) among seniors. 

This was a year-long double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, fixed dose intervention that involved patients with mild AD.

The study comprised of a three-week no-drug screening period, followed by 49 weeks of intervention.

During the intervention, 49 participants were randomised to take either 350mg / capsules containing five mg/g erinacine A per day or placebo per day.

The findings, published in Frontiers in Ageing Neuroscience​​ in 2020, showed a significant improvement in Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score in the intervention group.

There was also a significant Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) score difference was between the two groups.

Higher MMSE scores represent better cognition, while higher IADL scores represent a lower level of dependence.

Another eight-month clinical trial showed that supplementation of the ingredient could ameliorate hearing loss among seniors 65 and above.

It involved 80 seniors who were randomised to take either placebo or 2,000mg of Hericium erinaceus myceliae per day. 

Findings of the study were published in Journal of Functional Foods​ in 2022. ​

GK Heripene was first commercialised in 2017, with its first study on how it could benefit stroke using an animal study.

Li said the company would be conducting further research on GK Heripene’s effects in hearing loss, stroke, Parkinson's disease, AD, and possibly depression.

Commenting on the win, the judges said that they “were impressed by extensive published studies, its broad range appeal across a number of cognitive functions, and a large number of international patents giving it a strong market advantage.”​

Bringing more solutions for ageing across SEA​

The company is working on other solutions for the ageing population, with its Clostridium butyricum​ GKB-7 probiotic as another example.

This is a probiotic strain that has been studied on osteoarthritis.

“Again, we’re looking at the older population as the world gets older and older,” ​said Duncan Aitken, group sustainability officer/global business director.

In Thailand specifically, the probiotic industry is still at a nascent stage, but there has been growing interest.

“The trend we are seeing happening in Thailand is the interest in probiotics.​

“We're getting a lot more enquiries for the Thai market from local brands here and also some international brands who are looking to enter the Thai market with probiotics,” ​he said.

In fact, the company has been paying more attention in the wider South East Asian (SEA) region in the last four to five years.

“We are trying to grow to get ourselves across the whole SEA market, because we do think there is a multi-billion US dollar industry here, which we believe we have the scale, knowledge and experience in terms of being able to produce raw materials, as well as products with clinically proven efficacy behind them,” ​he said.

Watch the video to find out more.