Small trial suggests capsaicin may improve cognition
Brain blood-flow responses during mental tasks rose from 18% to 21% with supplementation, versus a decline from 21% to 19% with placebo over 12 weeks.
40 participants, placebo-controlled, registered ACTRN12623000556640
Limit: Only 34 participants completed the trial, with 17 in each group
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Forty middle-aged and older adults who were overweight or obese entered a randomized trial of 200 mg a day of Capsifen, a capsaicin supplement, or placebo for 12 weeks. Thirty-four participants completed the intervention, with 17 in each group.
The researchers used ultrasound to measure how brain blood flow responded to mental tasks and increased carbon dioxide levels. They also tested cognition. Total cognition scores rose from 98 to 107 in the supplement group, compared with 105 to 106 in the placebo group. Blood-flow responses to mental tasks also improved, but the supplement did not change responses to increased carbon dioxide. The authors concluded that capsaicin supplementation may improve cognition and the matching of brain blood flow to mental activity.
Why it matters
Cognition and the brain’s regulation of blood flow decline with age and may be further affected by obesity. Whether supplementation can influence these processes bears on efforts to maintain brain function as people grow older.
Caveats
This small, 12-week trial cannot establish long-term benefits or benefits in younger adults or people at a healthy weight. The abstract does not report adverse events.
The paper
University of Southern Queensland; The University of Queensland
Nutrients, Oct 30, 2026, Open access, CC BY
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