Anyone heard about it?

Used and believed to help slower Alzheimer's progress...

I could not find any from any topic so please take a look and give your opinions...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2127228/

http://www.kenes.com/adpd2009/cd/pdf/316.pdf

Please make sure that I'm not even sure about these sources are real ones.

Thank you!

Thank you very much for providing another invaluable piece to the puzzle, Lisa, and welcome to these boards.  The following article is for a derivative of feurlic acid, but it does not matter. 

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-4159.2004.02899.x/full 

I have long contended that peroxynitrites are the cause of Alzheimer's disease, and that peroxynitrite scavengers can be used to treat the disease.  The best peroxynitrite scavengers contain a methoxy groups (OCH3) and at least one phenol group (OH).  Following is the structure for feurlic acid. 

Ferulic acid 

And here is the structure for eugenol which is found in essential oils useful in treating Alzheimer's disease via aromatherapy. 

Indeed, methylphenols so far are the only compounds that have improved cognitive function in Alzheimer's patients in clinical trials.   

The only questions remaining for any methylphenol are side effects, effective dosage, and how much of the compound makes its way to the brain. 

I might already told that I'm Japanese.  When I went back for this summer to see my family, my sister gave tons of books about Alzheimer's disease.  I read it, googled it in Japanese, and what's interesting is this Trans Ferulic acid is not approved by Japanese version of FDA as medicene, but popular among patients, even for doctors.  One company called GLOVIA in Japan is selling it with the name Feruguard, another name in Korea for same ingredients is called ANM176...

Many (some are skeptical, like I am...) doctors are endorsing to take it along with Aricept.

All I could find from English sites are it's for everyone as supplement and relatively low side effects....

I'm leaning to try this since it looks like no harm, but potential benefit.....

Will keep searching for answer.

My mom does Aroma Therapy at home, and she likes it.

Again, I don't want to have anyone jumping to anything without knowing about it.  I want to be informed.

Ginkgo once was called miracle supplement to improve cognitive function, but clinical research found no evidence....

This might be another ginkgo, but I'm hoping this will help...

Hope to see more response coming...

Great work, Lisa.  I looked for the side effects of trans ferulic acid and it does appear to have few side effects at least from what they know now.  I looked up the chemical structure for ginkgo and it contains phenol groups but no methoxy groups.  I am almost sure that compounds containing both methoxy and phenol groups can be used to treat Alzheimer's disease as long as they reach the brain in sufficient quantity. 

What essential oils do you use for aromatherapy for your mother and how do you deliver them?  Do they seem to be helping?   If (when) you try the ferulic acid, let us know if there are improvements.   

Tacrine has an amino group (NH2) like Namenda.  It has many side effects, so I wouldn't recommend taking it along with ferulic acid.  Indeed, I think many of the results of this study are do more to the ferulic acid than to tacrine, and that is why I am posting it. 

Abstract Top

We have previously synthesized a series of hybrid compounds by linking ferulic acid to tacrine as multifunctional agents based on the hypotheses that Alzheimer's disease (AD) generates cholinergic deficiency and oxidative stress. Interestingly, we found that they may have potential pharmacological activities for treating AD. Here we report for the first time that tacrine-6-ferulic acid (T6FA), one of these compounds, can prevent amyloid-β peptide (Aβ)-induced AD-associated pathological changes in vitro and in vivo. Our results showed that T6FA significantly inhibited auto- and acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-induced aggregation of Aβ1–40 in vitro and blocked the cell death induced by Aβ1–40 in PC12 cells. In an AD mouse model by the intracerebroventricular injection of Aβ1–40, T6FA significantly improved the cognitive ability along with increasing choline acetyltransferase and superoxide dismutase activity, decreasing AChE activity and malondialdehyde level. Based on our findings, we conclude that T6FA may be a promising multifunctional drug candidate for AD.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0031921 

Do you guys think it's worth to try since it has few side affect?

I now do know about Tacrin and will be aware of that...

I see lots of Japanese people saying it worked, helped, even stopped and sometimes reversed!  their symptoms, but then I wonder....

If it's that helpful, why it's not everywhere in the US?

It's here (since it can be easily made by wheat, and different kind of grains...), it's sold, but no one seems to take it...

I don't want to give anything it's not sure for my mom, yet I want to try everything...I know everyone will feel the same...

For Aromatherapy, I use Lemon for morning,  Lavender at night.

She is using the light lit dish since I'm afraid of her using fire.

She is OK with it, and it's hard to tell if that's helping or not....

I don't think it's getting worse so I think it's helping to stop the progress...

I have many questions for you and you don't have to answer all of them. 

In Japan is there any information on the dose of ferulic acid and have there been any reports of side effects (the studies in the U.S. seem to be very limited, but it seems to be considered safe at this point).  Could you translate some of the testimonials from Japan in terms of it stopping and sometimes reversing the effects of Alzheimer's disease?  In theory compounds containing methoxy (OCH3) groups and phenols (OH in a hydrogen carbon ring) should not only stop but reverse part of the damage done by Alzheimer's disease.  This inlcude ferulic acid. 

I am not surprised that the mainstream medical community in the United States is not aware or interested in ferulic acid.  I am somewhat surprised that even the alternative medicine community seems largely unaware of it (I had not heard of it myself).  I see studies from overseas all the time of natural products that can be used to treat Alzheimer's disease, but most people in the mainstream medical community in the United States won't even touch them.  They either think it is a bunch of crock or it is a threat to their pursuit of a patented drug treatment for this disease. 

In regards to aromatherapy, lavender is a good essential oil to use at night for relaxation and lemon is a good one to use in the morning for stimulation.  If your mother can tolerate them, essential oils high in the methoxyphenol eugenol (bay laurel, clove, cinnamon leaf, holy basil, rosemary, etc.) might lead to greater improvements.  How long have you been using the essential oils?  They seem to have stabilized your mother. 

I have been searching for other methoxyphenols that could be used safely with essential oils to treat Alzheimer's disease.  Ferulic acid may be a good choice. 

A  couple of more passages about ferulic acid in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. 

Ferulic acid (4-hydroxy-3-methoxycinnamic acid), a phenolic compound and a major constituent of fruit, some vegetables, beverages and grains, has been shown to possess some scavenging activity toward hydroxyl radical, peroxynitrite and oxidized low-density lipoprotein in vitro (Yu et al. 1999; Kanski et al. 2002; Kikuzaki et al. 2002; Ogiwara et al. 2002). Long-term administration of ferulic acid was reported to protect mice against Aβ-induced learning and memory deficits and cerebral ischemia (Kim et al. 2004; Wang et al. 2003). Previous studies from our laboratory showed that pre-treatment with ferulic acid protects neuronal cell culture and synaptosomal systems against hydroxyl and peroxyl radical oxidation (Kanski et al. 2002). In the present study, we characterize the protective effect of ferulic acid ethyl ester, which is more hydrophobic than ferulic acid, on the oxidative stress induced by Aβ(1–42) in rat primary neuronal cell culture.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-4159.2004.02899.x/full 

The primary oxidant in Alzheimer's disease is peroxynitrite,  the best peroxynitrite scavengers are methoxyphenols such as ferulic acid and eugenol in various essential oils, and much of the damage done to the brain by peroxynitrites in Alzheimer's disease can be reversed by these same peroxynitrite scavengers because they reverse oxidative damage and may in part reduce damage caused by nitration.  So, so close.

Lane, I have been reading many of your posts and have some questions for you.  My mom is 65 and has Alzheimer's.  She is at a point where she still recognizes us but her short term memory is not good at all.  Presently, all she is taking is Aricept which is doing nothing. I would like to get her started on aroma therapy ASAP...can you recommend a regime to me?  For example, Rosemary and Cinnamon in the morning and Lavender and Orange in the evening?  Also, how do you go about delivering these scents?  Is there some sort of diffuser you recommend? Or can post a link to? 

Also, I would like to start giving my mom ferulic acid...would a supplement like the one I’ve posted below be appropriate?

 http://www.vitacost.com/source-naturals-trans-ferulic-acid-250-mg-30-tablets

I am also going to encourage the increased consumption of nuts, apples, citrus fruits and even artichoke. And what about Rice Bran oil?

I'm also going to start taking the ferulic acid myself.  My great grandmother, my grandmother and now my mom all have or had Alzheimer's so I'm afraid that it's just a matter of time for me.  I'm 41 now and from what I have read this is the time to start treatment of some sort...to stop the development of plaques before they start. 

On another note..my mom has had genetic testing done and she has one copy of the APOE4 gene as well as a mutation in the APP gene, but it is a mutation that has not been seen often.  My brother and I will be tested for these mutations as well in a couple weeks when we go back to visit the neurologist with my mom. I will also inform him of my intentions of giving my mom these supplements.  It's so hard to sit back and do nothing.  So if these recommendations can do anything with little to no side effects I don't see the harm in trying them. 

Thanks for all your insights and suggestions

Crissy

Hi! 

I might be already posted the same thing, but Dr. Kazuhiko Kono (again, I see him everywhere in Japanese , but not in English.) obviously the most important person when you talk about Trans Ferulic Acid in Japan.  He published more than 10 books all about Alzheimer's disease, all in Japanese.

In his blog, he does complain about the fact this safe, potentially great beneficial way is not so popular because it's not patented mega drug companies drugs.

He also says this is more of "eastern approach", not western medicine, and because of that, he has lots of westernized doctors in Japan as enemis.  (He is not clearly saying that, but you can smell it everywhere...)

Anyways, his blog is here, and sad thing is I'm not a doctor, I don't understand any of those clinical facts even it's in Japanese.

His blog is not only focusing on his clinical research (again, he complains about the fact that those big head, high educated, working at mega hospital with high tech everything people can get credit for publishing in English which he can't...because he prefers to help one more patient than a trophy from some big society....)

This is how I see him in 2 totally opposite way.

1.  He is just a bogus.  If this is all true and good, why he is not hiring someone who can publish it in English to major science magazines?  He is already making money by publishing books in Japanese.  Afraid of being scrutinized and found out it's not true...

2.  He does not care about what they say, just love to help more people at his own clinic. 

I've found out the company making this product is at some level related, or possibly funding his clinic....

The company name again is Glovia, and the product name are

Feruguard 100

(combination of 200mg of Trans Ferulic Acid and 40mg of garden angelica)

which they say it's milder version.

and

New Feruguard 

(combination of 200mg for each)

this new one according to their web site says more stimulus  

http://www.antiaging-eshop.com/

This is their web site and hope you can use some kind of translating tool at google.com.

Dr. Kono's blog here

http://dr-kono.blogzine.jp/

Again, this blog is not only about the clinic, but his hobby, jokes, everything...

Looks like he is really interesting person for sure....

I have to go now, but I will try to find some core point from his blog.  Not the joking part, but the serious ones.

You've been so helpful.

And for everyone, I'm not recommending it.  I'm still looking for answer...

By the way, he has what he calls "Kono Method" and teaching it to doctors who is with him.  At least one doctor is named as Kono method official doctor from him, and lots of people are switching from mega hospital to those clinic.

His blog is read by many people including doctors and patients, some skeptical like me, but most of them are praising and thanking him.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2003034_translate-web-page.html

hope this will help.

ehow for how to translate.

Lisa

Thanks, so much Lisa.  I will follow up on these links.  I believe Dr. Kono because ferulic acid fits the perfect profile for treating this disease.  The opposition to this kind of treatment is very strong particularly in the United States.

Welcome, Chamel.  The study on aromatherapy and Alzheimer's disease used rosemary and lemon in the morning and orange and lavender in the evening both with a diffuser.  Orange and lavender are good choices at night.  Rosemary and lemon enhance cognition but perhaps not as much as some other essential oils.  I am combining two studies here: one as to essential oils that are good antioxidants in general and the second as to essential oils that inhibit peroxynitrite damage.

The best ones are listed first.

Clove

Sweet Basil (but Holy Basil will work as well)

Bay Laurel

Coriander

Sweet Fennel

Nutmeg

Mint

Thyme

Rosemary

This doesn't mean that oils that ranked low on these lists (such as sage, oregano, true/Ceylon cinnamon) or weren't on these lists (lemon balm, various citrus oils, etc.) might not also be effective just not as effective in all likelihood.  Almost all the oils listed above are high in eugenol.

I am beginning to think that direct inhalation is most effective for the stimulating oils and diffusion or placement of the oil on a pillowcase or tissue is best for relaxing oils.  This website discusses the advantages and disadvantages of different kinds of diffusers.

http://www.aromaweb.com/articles/diffu.asp 

If you notice any increased anxiety, increased blood pressure, allergic reactions, or seizure, discontinue the use of the offending oil or at the very least add a relaxing oil right away.

Thanks to Lisa we now have a dose for ferulic acid and it is close to that from vitacoast.  I am assuming around 250mg once a day.  Cannot testify to any safety issues, but I have seen no red flags raised anywhere yet.

There is a certain symmetry to this disease.  The same phenolic compounds that may help in its treatment may also help prevent or delay its onset depending on the risk factors involved.  A diet high in polyphenols (Mediterranean, Indian, lots of fruits and vegetables, etc.) combined with polyunsaturated fats (fish oil, rice bran oil, and some other types of oils) may confer benefits over time.

The combination of APOE4 and a gene mutation affecting APP is not a good one, but methoxyphenols can likely be used to treat Alzheimer's disease (and perhaps vascular dementia) no matter what the cause and no matter what the stage (although better when begun early than late).

Effect of ferulic acid and Angelica archangelica extract on behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia in frontotemporal lobar degeneration and dementia with Lewy bodies 

Another study on ferulic acid this time for vascular dementia. 

[Effect of ferulic acid on learning and memory impairments of vascular dementia rats and its mechanism of action].

These results suggested that ferulic acid could alleviate VD rats' learning and memory deficits, which might be due to antioxidation, the improvement of cholinergic system in brain, or the inhibitory of nerve injury by excitatory amino acids. [all three actually]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22512041 

So far this compound is four for four: against Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, Frontotemporal Lobe dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies.  I made a mistake, though, when I said it did not matter if it was ferulic acid ethyl ester or ferulic acid as the ethyl ester seems to reach the brain more effectively than ferulic acid.  I am not sure how much of a difference this makes. 

Fascinating in a way.  All the major forms of dementia are linked to oxidative stress.  Ferulic acid is an antioxidant (a methoxyphenol that scavenges peroxynitrites, for instance) that more readily crosses the blood-brain barrier than curcumin--another methoxyphenol that was once highly touted for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. 

The long-term ingestion of polyphenols in spices, herbs, fruits, and vegetables has been linked to better verbal memory and language skills but to poorer executive function (planning, behavior, etc.).  The latter is probably due to the fact that polyphenols increase adrenaline and dopamine levels.  In individuals with autism (which shares similarities with Alzheimer's disease), memory is less affected but behavior is often worse because they cannot easily breakdown phenolic compounds.  People with various forms of dementia can breakdown phenolic compounds, but either as a group or from individual to individual they cannot easily breakdown adrenaline and dopamine.  For a person without these problems, phenolic compounds will lower delusions, hallucinations, and agitation, because they improve a person's cognition, mood, and glucose levels.  But high levels of phenols will likely increase agitation, delusions, and hallucinations in people who already have high levels of adrenaline and dopamine.  That's why essential oils via aromatherapy have had such different effects on behaviors --leading to improvements in behavior in some and worsening it in others. 

Now if you could significantly improve cognition and mood without significantly increasing dopamine and adrenaline levels than you more or less get the best of both worlds.  That is probably what ferulic acid does because by the time it reaches the brain it is not as potent as the essential oils containing high levels of phenols.  It probably does not have as great an impact on cognition and mood but enough so that it more than offsets the increase in dopamine and adrenaline.  If essential oils via aromatherapy increase agitation, hallucinations, and delusions in you or your loved one, I would hesitantly recommend ferulic acid as an alternative  (just because it's side effects have not been well studied, but it does not seem to have major side effects).  If  you or your loved one does not suffer from these conditions or the  essential oils via aromatherapy make things better than you might consider using ferulic acid along with aromatherapy.   

Thank you Lane-san,

This has been so helpful.  Now I see some hope, and I know it's worth to take time and search about it.

I wonder if there is any doctor in the US who's knowing, and doing this Dr. Kono's Kono Method....

Or that would be nice if we can invite someone from Japan to this topic.  The person has to be not only a Kono method certified doctor, but also fluent in English.  In that way, Lane-san and the doctor can have really valuable conversation.

I do know big SNS type of place for Japanese speaking Alzheimer's disease patients and family and doctors just like this alz connected, maybe I will go and find someone, then invite them to here.  What do you think?

I am doing a lot of double posting these days, because ferulic acid and eugenol (found in various essential oils) are very similar compounds that are highly effective antioxidants.  Not only that eugenol (through aromatherapy) and ferulic acid via ingestion appear to be relatively safe compounds.  Ferulic acid may have an advantage in regards to behavior and pyschological symptoms in that it appears to reduce agitation and hallucinations no matter what the form of dementia, whereas in certain situations or with certain forms of dementia essential oils high in methoxphenols can increase behavioral problems.  I am not even sure what I am looking for any more, because with Lisa's great help we seem to have found it.  I cannot help my mother any more, but she would be happy if I could help someone else. 

I will copy from the aromatherapy post. 

I still have chemistry on my mind.  The following abstract suggests that both ferulic acid and eugenol (the compound found in various essential oils such as bay laurel, clove, basil, nutmeg, cinnamon leaf, and rosemary) are both strong antioxidants.   

Objectives:Ferulic acid (FA) (4-hydroxy-3-methoxycinnamic acid), a eugenol-related compound, is a potent antioxidant.

http://iadr.confex.com/iadr/eur05/preliminaryprogram/abstract_66703.htm (the rest of the article is only slightly relevant to Alzheimer's disease). 

Phenolic compounds are good antioxidants because they donate both hydrogen atoms and electrons to peroxynitrites and in essence detoxify them. 

ONOO- + 2H+ + 2 electrons= H20 + NO2- 

The methoxy group does the same thing, but not as effectively.  Put another way the methoxy group enhances the antioxidant potential of phenols.  

Both ferulic acid and eugenol contain methoxy groups.  Ferulic acid is better than curcumin (another compound containing a methoxy group) because ferulic acid is water soluble and can pass through the bloodstream and into the brain.   Ferulic acid and eugenol are both compounds that can get into the brain either across the traditional blood-brain barrier (in the case of ferulic acid) or across a modified blood-brain barrier (basically the nose) in the case of eugenol via aromatherapy.  These are the compounds that you want to use to treat Alzheimer's disease.    

I'm digging more as I know how it might help more people...Thank you very much for helping this Lane!

http://academic.research.microsoft.com/Author/26223393/takemi-kimura 

By asking at Japanese bulletin board, I've got 2 names who is doing documentation in English.

Found Dr. Takemi Kimura from Kikuchi hospital in Kumamoto, Japan.

I will add the other doctor's as soon as I find.

Have a happy labor day!

 The doctor who told me about Dr. Kimura said there got to be a published resarch related to Feru- gauard or Trans Ferulic Acid.

Hope the link will work....

Found the other!

Dr. Kiyoshi Kanaya from Hachioji, Tokyo.

http://academic.research.microsoft.com/Author/53903128/kiyoshi-kanaya

I really hope this will help.

At this point, i'm not contacting to the company who's selling Feru Guard.

I will if you want me to, but I want to make sure that I'm doing right thing...

Thank you for finding these doctors, Lisa and I look forward to hearing from whomever from Japan can post here.   

I did find one more study for now with your help in terms of the names of the doctors. 

Effects of ferulic acid and Angelica archangelica extract (Feruguard) in patients with Alzheimer's disease

• Kiyoshi Kanaya 

Background: Feruguard is a health food supplement composed of ferulic acid extracted from rice bran and garden angelica obtained from Angelica archangelica. In recent years, Feruguard has been reported to be effective against the core symptoms and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) of Alzheimer disease (AD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). We conducted a prospective study to verify the efficacy of this supplement with respect to the BPSD, the results of which are reported here. Methods: The subjects consisted of 24 patients who had been definitively diagnosed with AD or DLB. Based on an observation period of 4 months, a crossover study was conducted in which 12 patients were assigned to group A and 12 patients were assigned to group B. Each patient in group A took two packets of Feruguard daily for the first two months. The patients in group B took the same for the latter two months. The assessment methods consisted of NPI-D scores combining neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI), which is an evaluation scale for BPSD, with an evaluation of distress of the caregiver, MMSE and ADAS as tests of cognitive functions, and GDS15 as a depression scale. These parameters were measured before and after taking Feruguard followed by an examination of their changes. Moreover, SPECT imaging were also performed, and a comparative study of changes in cerebral blood flow before and after administration was conducted using SPM8. Results: In the 12 patients of group A at completion of testing, mean NPI score was observed to have decreased significantly (P = 0.003) from 18.08 before administration to 10.58 after administration. In addition, distress scores also decreased significantly (P = 0.000) from 12.17 to 7.50, thus demonstrating the ameliorative effects of Feru-Guard on BPSD. There were no significant differences observed for MMSE, ADAS or GDS15 scores before and after administration. In the comparison of changes in cerebral blood flow, significant increases were observed in the right occipital lobe, and left cerebellar hemisphere as compared with before administration. Conclusions: This study verified the usefulness of Feruguard for BPSD. We intend to conduct additional studies on larger numbers of subjects in the future.

Two things struck me about this study: one there was a significant improvment in behavioral and pyschological symptoms in people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies in people taking ferugard and no significant change in cognition (no worsening and no improvement).  I will look forward to the larger studies that the authors promised. 

For the time being, we will just try to learn as much as we can about Feru-guard.   

Lisa, Lane, and all, thanks for all the information on Trans Ferulic Acid.

Please, can someone answer a few questions for me?

Memory?
Is there any evidence  (even if only from significant numbers of anecdotal reports) that Trans Ferulic Acid can really significantly improve memory in humans with mild cognitive impairment or dementia?

Side effects? 
Exactly what side effects have been associated with Trans Ferulic Acid?  (I keep seeing references on the internet to "few side effects" but exactly what are they?)

Drug Interactions and other contraindications?
Does Trans Ferulic Acid have any known problematic interactions with other meds or supplements?  And might it worsen any existing problems?

Thanks.

Excellent questions, Onward.  The studies suggesting improvements in memory are only for animals at this point.  The one study I just found above suggests that in a relatively short-term study and with relatively few participants, ferulic acid may slow or stop the loss of memory but does not improve it.  This again may be a problem of getting enough of the compound into the brain to make a significant difference. 

Ferulic acid like eugenol in various essential oils (and this makes sense because they are almost the same compound) at very high levels may increase the risk for certain kinds of cancer.  

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-09/acs-qts090810.php 

At very high levels certain antioxidants can become pro-oxidants.  At all other levels however they probably help protect against cancers (peroxynitrites are also linked to many forms of cancer in part because of their role in DNA damage, oxidation, and inflammation).  I have not had a chance yet to see if there are any negative drug interactions. 

From the small-scale studies so far, this may be the safest conclusion: Feru-guard (ferulic acid plus Angelica archangelica) appears to significantly reduced behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia 

I will post more--both postive and negative--as I find more. 

Lane...thank you so much for all or your suggestions and information!  I am willing to try anything to help my mom and also prevent this disease from taking hold in me. 

Thanks and keep the info coming!!

Lisa3-Thanks for all your info as well...I just tried translating the articles you had posted (the store and the blog) and the translating feature is not 100% accurate so it makes the articles/info a bit hard to understand..but it does look like it is possible to order from the store.  I'm considering getting the new Fenuguard for my mom and I.  Is your mom currently taking it?

Lane-I wonder if it makes sense to start taking the Fenuguard now? 

After reading that Ferulic acid is from Rice Bran which is the main staple in the Japanese diet...why is there still a high incidence of ALZ in the Japanese population?  Shouldn't this have some sort of beneficial effect and reduce the number of Japanese patients with ALZ compared to the general world population?

Thank you Chamel, Onward, and Lisa.  A happy Labor Day to everyone. 

I post the following knowing its limitations: 

East-West differences  

Studies done in South India, Mumbai and the northern state of Haryana in India have reported very low rates of occurrence of Alzheimer’s disease in those at 65 years of age or older, ranging from about 1% in rural north-India (the lowest reported from anywhere in the world where Alzheimer’s disease has been studied systematically) to 2.7 in urban Chennai.

Studies from China and Taiwan have also shown a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease as compared to western countries. The low rates of occurrence of Alzheimer’s disease in the eastern countries is in striking contrast to data from the western countries.

Community-based studies are of particular interest when they look at populations similar in origin but subject to relocation. Some Japanese reports are important in this respect. Two recent investigations in the rural areas of Japan revealed that Alzheimer’s disease occurred in about 3.5% of individuals aged 65 or more. Reported research in 1996 among older Japanese Americans living in Washington and in Hawaii revealed that the number of Alzheimer’s disease cases was much higher than that estimated in Japan and closely resembled the findings for North America and Europe.

http://www.searo.who.int/en/Section1174/Section1199/Section1567/Section1823_8066.htm 

What role diet, access to health care, and pollution (mercury exposure in air and water, and perhaps nitric oxides in air pollution)  play in these differences is very hard to tell. 

A high phenolic diet may lower the onset of Alzheimer's disease but it also depends on the risk factors.  Risk factors that tremendously increase the risk for Alzheimer's disease (such as presenilin gene mutations) are more difficult to offset than lesser risk factors (such as stress).  And if a person has multiple risk factors that is likely more difficult to offset than having one risk factor.  Moreover, certain phenolic compounds are not absorbed well, and are easily modified and excreted, so it might take a lifetime of consumption to make a major difference. 

A combination of two studies inidcates that Feru-guard lowers behavioral problems in people with frontotemporal lobe dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, and Alzheimer's disease.  The answer may be as simple as Feru-guard increases blood flow in different parts of the brain. In the one study, in two months there was no changes in tests designed to measure cognition.  The problem is that it is impossible to know what would have happened if the supplement had been continued.  Would some decline have occurred after two month; would some improvement still be possible after two months?   I am anxious to see what the experience in Japan has been. 

The problem with many antioxidants is that they tend to be either water soluble (ferulic acid, for example) or fat soluble (curcumin, for instance).  If they are water soluble they can be taken up by the bloodstream but not well by the brain; if they are fat solube they cannot easily be taken up by the bloodstream even though they could be taken up by the brain.  This is one of the reasons why scientists are trying to develop nasal sprays for polyphenolic compound for Alzheimer's disease.  Whether developing a form of ferulic acid for human consumption that was less water soluble would make a difference is hard to say (it seemed to make a difference in the mouse study, but the question is whether it would make a difference in human beings).   

The methoxyphenol eugenol in various essential oils is not very fat soluble although some suggest that the rest of the compound makes it more fat soluble and thus increases its uptake into the brain. 

Unfortunately, I am not sure if the combination of aromatherapy with supplementation with Feru-guard (the second component of it Angelica archangelica is a polyphenol) would increase the effects of the aromatherapy or not. 

http://www.ihealthtree.com/cogni-q-inm-176-60-caps-quality-of-life-labs.html 

Cogni Q is (at least as I believe so please help me someone...) same as Feru guard.

I believe so just because I found an article says Feru-guard is same as INM 176 in Korea, and the company in Korea (not the same from Japan who sells Feru guard) is selling in Mexico, US, and  Vietnam already...

The reason I came here in the first place was because I wanted to know if it's the same or not.  Someone from the Japanese bulletin board suggested to buy Trans Ferulic Acid as Supplement everywhere in the US since it's much cheaper than buying Feru guard in Japan (will cost about 80 dollars at least for a month.  Depends on the dose.)

Plus the reason why I'm not reaching to the Glovia (maker of Feru guard) is because I want to stand at the mutual point to see if it really works or not.

Knowing the Japanese bulletin board is backed and maybe funded by Glovia, the maker of Feru guard, I don't want to listen to them as the only resource.  Dese it make sense?

We should help each other to make sure if this really will work or not, then figure out which one is most affordable, safe option....

Thank you everyone, most of all Lane-san!!

I wonder the same thing since my mom hardly ever eat junk food, deep fried food, sweet stuff.  She eats rice everyday with garden veggies and Fish...Typical healthy eating habit...

I know to cover the same amount of ferulic acid, you have to eat 200 or more bowls of rice or something like that...

Scigenic is the name of Korean company that I found.

Hope this will help and lead to something valuable.

Sorry now I know there are 2 different stuff INM-176 and ANM-176 from the company in Korea.  ANM-176 is the mix of 2 ingredients same as Feru guard, but I can not find it as products on line.  Need more help...

So now I know INM-176 is in the US, but it's not same as ANM-176.

ANM-176 is only sold in Japan. (maker is the same Korean company)

We don have Trans Ferulic Acid itself in the US.

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/SN433/ItemDetail?SourceCode=INTL402

Now the question is how important to have garden angelica as additional ingredients...

Am I right about to think Feru guard's main ingredient as same as Trans Ferulic Acid?  I'm getting confused...

Yes, Lisa is right trans ferulic acid (trans-4 hydroxy-3-methoxycinnamic acid or sometimes shortened to ferulic acid) is sold in the United States and it does not contain garden angelica (Angelica archangelica) like Feru-guard.  This may be a problem in that garden angelica is a polyphenolic compound and polyphenolic compounds also scavenge peroxynitrites, which is likely the main oxidant in Alzheimer's disease.  If you add one methoxyphenol compound (trans-ferulic acid) with one polyphenolic compound (garden angelica) or two methoxyphenols (ferulic acid and eugenol in various essential oils) does the combination of these two compounds make them more effective at treating the disease than either one separately?  My instinctive reaction is to say yes, but I am not sure.   

I hope that Lisa or anyone else can track down a reputable overseas supplier if Feru-guard is not available for purchase in the United States.   

I like the san added to my name.  I feel honored.   

Here is their website in English. They ship to the U.S.

http://en.kenko.com/help/index.html#2

Thanks Myriam for the website, for all your research, and for always being open-minded and supportive to everyone on these boards.   

I was looking for essential oils that may contain ferulic acid and found that lemon balm essential oil contains some ferulic acid.   

The following is a list of some of the beneficial aspects of ferulic acid on the website on lemon balm. 

2.Ferulic Acid  
Ferulic Acid helps to prevent many forms of Cancer.
Ferulic Acid helps to prevent Inflammation.
Ferulic Acid possesses Antioxidant properties. -Ferulic Acid neutralizes Peroxynitrite Free Radicals.
Ferulic Acid alleviates Anxiety. 

And for all the constituents of lemon balm. 

Memory-improving [due to cholinergic activities identified in extracts of lemon balm] 

http://www.herbsorganic.co.za/pages/working%20on/Lemon%20Balm/Lemon%20Balm%20information.htm 

And Akhondzadeh's results from a study of lemon balm essential oil (Melissa officinalis) on memory and anxiety. 

Results: At four months, Melissa officinalis extract produced a significantly better outcome on cognitive function than placebo (ADAS-cog: df = 1, F = 6.93, p = 0.01; CDR: df = 1, F = 16.87, p < 0.0001). There were no significant differences in the two groups in terms of observed side effects except agitation, which was more common in the placebo group (p = 0.03).

Conclusions: Melissa officinalis extract is of value in the management of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease and has a positive effect on agitation in such patients.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1738567/ 

Lemon balm essential oil also contains eugenol.  The combination of ferulic acid and eugenol appears to be a good one, although either alone is likely to improve memory in people with Alzheimer's disease, just as long as it gets to the brain in high enough concentrations.