In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial among healthy adults aged 20-40, consuming 86 g/day of a guava jelly drink for eight weeks produced signals in selected electrophysiological, working-memory and mental-well-being outcomes. With only 25 participants per arm and numerous endpoints, the findings are exploratory and do not establish a therapeutic benefit.
Key findings
- The low-dose arm showed reported improvements in N100 amplitude, P300 latency and HADS anxiety. The high-dose arm showed changes in N100, working memory, PSS and total HADS, plus increased GPx activity; however, MDA did not decrease, so the proposed antioxidant pathway was not consistently demonstrated.
Why this matters globally
The study adds controlled human data to a functional-food field often dominated by preclinical evidence. Its multimodal measures are useful for hypothesis generation, but the results are not yet suitable for product efficacy or treatment claims.
Thai researcher contribution
All five authors are affiliated with Khon Kaen University units in physiology, neuroscience, health-promotion research and psychiatry, making the Thai institution central to the trial.
Limitations to consider
The trial had 25 participants per arm, lasted eight weeks and tested many outcomes, increasing multiplicity risk. The abstract does not report effect sizes or multiplicity adjustments, and healthy adults aged 20-40 do not represent patients, older adults or other formulations.