Relaxation and immunity enhancement effects of γ‐Aminobutyric acid (GABA) administration in humans

Abdou, Adham M.; Higashiguchi, S.; Horie, Kenji; Kim, Mujo; Hatta, Hajime; Yokogoshi, Hidehiko

doi:10.1002/biof.5520260305

Cited by 342 publications

(222 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Patients with panic disorders have been found to have a 22 % reduction in GABA levels in the occipital cortex, suggesting that decreased levels of GABA may be involved in panic disorder pathophysiology (Goddard et al 2001). In contrast, oral administration of GABA increases alpha waves and decreases beta waves, suggesting that GABA induces relaxation and reduces anxiety (Abdou et al 2006). After a single yoga asana session, which consists of postures, pranayama (a yogic breathing exercise), meditation, and chanting, subjects experienced a 27 % increase in GABA levels (Streeter et al 2007).…”

Section: Possible Role Of Membrane Potential In Cardiorespiratory Modmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-Regulation of Breathing as a Primary Treatment for Anxiety

Jerath¹,

Crawford²,

Barnes

et al. 2015

Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback

187

125

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Understanding the autonomic nervous system and homeostatic changes associated with emotions remains a major challenge for neuroscientists and a fundamental prerequisite to treat anxiety, stress, and emotional disorders. Based on recent publications, the inter-relationship between respiration and emotions and the influence of respiration on autonomic changes, and subsequent widespread membrane potential changes resulting from changes in homeostasis are discussed. We hypothesize that reversing homeostatic alterations with meditation and breathing techniques rather than targeting neurotransmitters with medication may be a superior method to address the whole body changes that occur in stress, anxiety, and depression. Detrimental effects of stress, negative emotions, and sympathetic dominance of the autonomic nervous system have been shown to be counteracted by different forms of meditation, relaxation, and breathing techniques. We propose that these breathing techniques could be used as firstline and supplemental treatments for stress, anxiety, depression, and some emotional disorders.

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Section: Possible Role Of Membrane Potential In Cardiorespiratory Modmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-Regulation of Breathing as a Primary Treatment for Anxiety

Jerath¹,

Crawford²,

Barnes

et al. 2015

Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback

187

125

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“…In mammals, GABA is present at high levels in the brain and is the predominant inhibitory neurotransmitter. It also has roles in lowering blood pressure and in mental stabilization (Hayakawa et al, 2004;Abdou et al, 2006;Guyenet, 2006). GABA is mainly metabolized via a short pathway called the GABA shunt.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Methods for Enrichment of γ-Aminobutyric Acid in Sesame Seeds

Katsuno

Sakamoto

Yabe

et al. 2015

FSTR

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We sought a method to increase γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels in sesame seeds. When water was added to the seeds and they were heated at 60℃ for 15 min, the GABA content increased over 8-fold compared to the starting seeds. The amount of water added to the seeds affected the production of GABA, with the addition of more water leading to production of more GABA. GABA production occurred during the first 10 min of treatment at 60℃.Moreover, the addition of l-glutamate resulted in further GABA enrichment. The results indicate that our method using a short-duration heat treatment can form GABA-rich products from sesame seeds.Keywords: sesame seed, γ-aminobutyric acid, enriching process, heating treatment Introduction γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-protein amino acid found in bacteria, plants and vertebrates. In mammals, GABA is present at high levels in the brain and is the predominant inhibitory neurotransmitter. It also has roles in lowering blood pressure and in mental stabilization (Hayakawa et al., 2004;Abdou et al., 2006;Guyenet, 2006). GABA is mainly metabolized via a short pathway called the GABA shunt. In this pathway, GABA is synthesized through the α-decarboxylation of l-glutamate (l-Glu) catalyzed by l-Glu decarboxylase (GAD) (Bown and Shelp, 1997;Shelp et al., 1999;Bouché and Fromm 2004;Fait et al., 2008). In plant seeds, GAD expression and activity increase during germination (Kuo et al., 2004;Xu and Hu, 2014). GABA is contained in high quantities in germinated brown rice and soybean sprouts, which are eaten on a daily basis in Japan (Martínez-Villaluenga et al., 2006;Iwaki et al., 2007).In plants, GABA is accumulated as a metabolite in response to various stress conditions (Wallace et al., 1984;Kaplan et al., 2004;Chung et al., 2009). The GABA-accumulation phenomenon has been utilized to enrich GABA content of fruits, vegetables and other plant materials. The process includes anaerobic CO 2 , highpressure and immersion treatments (Saikusa et al., 1994;Sasagawa et al., 2006;Wang et al., 2006;Komatsuzaki et al., 2007;Akihiro et al., 2008;Watanabe et al., 2013).Sesame seeds have high nutrient content and health-promoting functions. Therefore, the seeds have been eaten for generations on a daily basis in many countries. However, the seeds contain only trace levels of GABA as a functional amino acid. Nakashima et al. (2005) reported that the GABA content in sesame seeds was increased by a 48-h germination treatment. However, GABA enrichment by germination is not of practical use because it is time-consuming and the flavor deteriorates during the process.Generally, roasted seeds are successfully processed by removing foreign substances, washing, dehydrating, roasting, cooling, again removing foreign substances, and finally, packing. On a commercial scale, GABA enrichment might be incorporated into this process. In this study, we investigated ways to enrich for GABA in sesame seeds with high efficiency before roasting. Materials and MethodsMaterials White sesame seeds (Escoba), harvested in Paragu...

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“…GABA is known to have effects of anti-stress and relaxation (3)(4)(5)(6), and AVLE is also effective for relieving depression (7) and anxiety (8). Furthermore, there is a report that has shown the stress-reducing effect of GABA and AVLE by concurrent ingestion (18).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Improvement of Sleep by Oral Intake of GABA and <i>Apocynum venetum</i> Leaf Extract

Yasuda

Yamashita

Maru

et al. 2015

Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology, J Nutr Sci Vit

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SummaryThe effects of two food materials, g-aminobutyric acid (GABA) produced by natural fermentation and Apocynum venetum leaf extract (AVLE), on the improvement of sleep were investigated in humans. The electroencephalogram (EEG) test revealed that oral administration of GABA (100 mg) and AVLE (50 mg) had beneficial effects on sleep. GABA shortened sleep latency by 5.3 min and AVLE increased non-rapid eye movement (REM) sleep time by 7.6%. Simultaneous intake of GABA and AVLE shortened sleep latency by 4.3 min and increased non-REM sleep time by 5.1%. The result of questionnaires showed that GABA and AVLE enabled subjects to realize the effects on sleep. These results mean that GABA can help people to fall asleep quickly, AVLE induces deep sleep, and they function complementarily with simultaneous intake. Since both GABA and AVLE are materials of foods and have been ingested for a long time, they can be regarded as safe and appropriate for daily intake in order to improve the quality of sleep.

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Relaxation and immunity enhancement effects of γ‐Aminobutyric acid (GABA) administration in humans

Cited by 342 publications

References 27 publications

Self-Regulation of Breathing as a Primary Treatment for Anxiety

Self-Regulation of Breathing as a Primary Treatment for Anxiety

Methods for Enrichment of γ-Aminobutyric Acid in Sesame Seeds

The Improvement of Sleep by Oral Intake of GABA and <i>Apocynum venetum</i> Leaf Extract

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