The effect of histidine on mental fatigue and cognitive performance in subjects with high fatigue and sleep disruption scores

Abstract

Our previous study reported that a dried bonito broth known in Japan as 'dashi' improved or ameliorated mood states, including fatigue, during the daily lives of human subjects. Histidine is an amino acid that is present in dried bonito broth, and we sought to evaluate whether histidine would affect feelings of fatigue in humans. We investigated the effects of histidine intake on the feeling of fatigue, mood states and mental task performance by performing a placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover trial. Twenty subjects with high fatigue and sleep disruption scores were asked to ingest histidine or a placebo every day for two weeks. The subjects' mood states were evaluated using the Profile of Mood States (POMS) scale and a visual analog scale (VAS) for eight feelings (fatigue, depression, carelessness, drowsiness, clear thinking, motivation, attentiveness and concentration). We also measured subjects' cognitive performance using the CogHealth test battery. The fatigue T-scores on the POMS test decreased significantly following histidine ingestion compared to placebo ingestion (p<0.05). After two weeks of histidine ingestion, the reaction time for the working memory task in the CogHealth test battery was significantly shorten compared to placebo ingestion. The VAS scores for clear thinking and for attentiveness were increased significantly following histidine ingestion compared to placebo ingestion (p<0.05). These results suggest that daily ingestion of histidine may ameliorate feelings of fatigue, increase performance during working memory tasks, and improve the clear thinking and attentiveness.

Histidine in Health and Disease: Metabolism, Physiological Importance, and Use as a Supplement

“…High amounts of HIS (109 mg/g) have been detected in dried bonito broth, a food ingredient used commonly in Japanese meals, called dashi. Bonito (skipjack tuna; Katsuwonus pelamis) is commonly consumed fish; dried bonito broth is used more frequently than beef or chicken bouillon for soup stock [34].…”

“…Increased HIS intake in the form of a dried bonito broth has improved mood state and mental task performance of human subjects [33,34,36]. Several studies have reported an anorectic effect of HIS administration [65][66][67][68] and HIS-enriched diet [62][63][64].…”

“…Due to the wide range of potentially beneficial physiological properties, such as antioxidant properties, proton-buffering power, and chelating function, HIS-containing supplements have been investigated in the wide range of conditions (Figure 7). In most studies, daily HIS supplementation doses range from 1 to 4 g, which represents approximately 2-8% of the recommended intake of nitrogen and an increase in daily intake of HIS up to six times [3,34,87]. effects of HIS and beta-alanine rather than CAR.…”

Fatores associados a erros de dispensação de medicamentos: contribuição à melhoria de sistemas de medicação

“…Talvez isso possa ser explicado pela ausência do farmacêutico, em 62.2% das coletas noturnas, e pela sobrecarga de trabalho do técnico, que nesse caso era o único colaborador na farmácia, dificultando a realização de todas as atividades necessárias. A sobrecarga é o principal fator apontado por farmacêuticos e técnicos em outras pesquisas [13][14][15] e a privação do sono em trabalhos noturnos pode levar à fadiga e, consequentemente, a uma diminuição do desempenho, da atenção e do tempo de reação; aumentando, assim, a vulnerabilidade a erros 5 .…”

Dispensing errors from look-alike drug trade names

“…The former might be related to memory lapses 10. Factors such as fatigue, sleep disruption and distraction may interfere with working memory and cause dispensing errors 11–13.…”