Psyched Wellness (PSYC.C) released data from the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) on studies on the neuroprotective properties of their Amanita muscaria mushroom extract, AME-1.
The study kicks off a series intended on the exploration of the neuroprotective properties of AME-1 and specifically on whether or not the anti-inflammatory properties of the chemical would contribute to those. The preliminary findings demonstrate that AME-1 does in fact have anti-inflammatory properties, and that it does not cause apoptosis (the process of programmed cell death used during early development to eliminate unwanted cells) but instead protects at the cellular level.
“The preliminary evidence of this investigative study revealed more key functional properties of the AME-1 extract and its broader health and wellness benefits. The neuroprotective effect found in this study is unique, and the potential impacts from a natural product such as AME-1 are novel. The Amanita Muscaria mushroom’s functional properties will be further explored, and will we continue to build our knowledge base on the amazing potential healing power of AME-1,” said Brian Tancowny, scientific advisor to Psyched.
Psyched Wellness is into producing health supplements and specifically those dealing with products derived from mushrooms. Their goal is to become the premium mushroom-derived product company in the functional food space, and they’re in the process of developing a line of Amanita muscaria-derived water based extracts, teas and capsules to promote stress relief, relaxation and help with sleep.
When you factor in that a heavy percentage of Canadians don’t get enough sleep regularly, it’s an important market and potentially a lucrative one. If you work a sedentary job (like writing for 8 hours a day) you’re going to have a hard time getting to sleep. If said writing job includes a heavy boatload of deadline related stress, you can join the 36.3% of adults in Canada who get insufficient sleep compared to the 23.2% of adults who get decent sleep.
Naturally, this bleeds over into mental health considerations as 12.3% of adults who get insufficient also report having poor mental health. That’s really a chicken-or-the-egg scenario, but the lack of sleep certainly doesn’t help matters much.
“It is exciting to see continued positive results from the studies we are conducting with the NRC, and further work is being done to examine the mechanisms of this neuroprotection as we learn more about the Amanita Muscaria. As we focus on commercialization of our AME-1 tinctures in the United States this Spring, these studies provide evidence for the potential of many additional future uses of AME-1 to ensure we can offer consumers options for their health and wellness needs,” said Jeffrey Stevens, CEO of the company.
—Joseph Morton
