Do anserine and carnosine from chicken help your memory?
Several studies show that 1 gram of anserine and carnosine daily can meaningfully preserve delayed memory in older adults. The strongest evidence applies to this specific type of memory; for other cognitive functions the research is less clear-cut.
Anserine and carnosine, two substances found naturally in chicken meat, improve delayed memory in older adults. That is the most consistent finding: many studies combined show an average improvement of 1.5 points on a standardised memory test. This effect held up in healthy people aged 65 and over as well as in people without any memory complaints. On broader tests of overall mental sharpness, no difference was found.
Two separate studies in healthy people aged 60 to 78 confirmed that 1 gram per day (anserine and carnosine in a ratio of 3 to 1) preserves delayed verbal memory better than a dummy pill. The researchers also found lower levels of inflammation markers in the blood and, on MRI scans, a smaller decline in blood flow to the back of the brain's outer layer.
In people with mild memory problems the results are more mixed. In a study of 54 participants, overall mental function improved slightly, but most individual memory tests showed no effect. An interesting exception involved people who carry a gene that raises their risk of Alzheimer's disease: they showed improvements on both a standard mental-sharpness test and the overall assessment. This is a finding from a small subgroup and needs to be confirmed in larger studies.
Chicken essence, a popular Asian supplement that also contains these substances, shows a modest positive effect on working memory across several studies involving nearly 800 participants in total. For executive functions the results are contradictory, and short-term memory does not appear to improve. Many of these studies carried a high risk of bias.
In mouse studies using an Alzheimer's model, anserine even fully reversed memory deficits and improved the structure of blood vessels in the brain. That is a biologically interesting clue about how the substance works, but results from animal studies do not automatically apply to people.
The strongest evidence comes from a summary of ten studies on anserine and carnosine, which shows a consistent positive effect on delayed memory. Two separate studies in healthy older adults confirm this for a daily dose of 1 gram. Effects on other cognitive measures are inconsistent: some studies find nothing, and one study in people with early memory complaints found a benefit only in a subgroup. A review of studies on chicken essence shows a modest effect on working memory but contradictory results on other outcomes, and those chicken essence studies carried a relatively high risk of bias. A narrative review draws more positive conclusions than the underlying studies justify. Overall, the evidence is most convincing for delayed memory in healthy older adults; other cognitive benefits are less certain.