Oral intake of carboxy alkyl ester improves attention: A randomized double-blind cross-over placebo-controlled study

Objective: To test the null hypothesis that oral intake of the dietary supplement carboxy alkyl ester (CAE) would have no effect on attention as revealed by mean rapid visual information processing (RVIP) scores. Methods: In a randomized double-blind cross-over placebo-controlled trial, healthy participants (age 19–66 years) of both sexes were randomly assigned to consume 700 mg of CAE or 700 mg of placebo. They received baseline attention testing via the RVIP task. Then they consumed CAE or placebo followed by RVIP testing. Participants were then given a washout period where they did not consume CAE or placebo. Afterward, individuals who initially consumed CAE were given the placebo and those who initially consumed the placebo were given CAE. Finally, all participants were tested again via RVIP. Results: A priori statistical computation revealed that 30-day oral intake of CAE improved mean RVIP test scores (t = 2.4, p <.05) relative to that at baseline, which resulted in a rejection of the null hypothesis. Conclusions: Daily oral intake of the CAE dietary supplement may boost attention and further research is now needed to confirm this observation.