1274.pdf

Oryginał 
Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to gamma- aminobutyric acid and cognitive function (ID 1768) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006[sup]1[/sup] EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA)2 European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Parma, Italy
Słowa kluczowe: GABA   Gamma-aminobutyric acid   cognitive function   health claims  
ID:    1768  
Produkty: Kwas gamma-aminomasłowy  

1. Charakterystyka żywności / składnika

The food constituent that is the subject of the health claim is gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) which is the major inhibitory amino acid transmitter in the central nervous system, and is present in about 40% of all neurones. Most neurones in the brain have membrane receptors for GABA. GABA can be identified by standard analytical techniques.
The Panel considers that the food constituent, GABA, which is the subject of the health claim is sufficiently characterised.

2. Znaczenie oświadczenia dla zdrowia człowieka

The claimed effect is “mental health”. The Panel assumes that the target population is the general population.
“Mental health” is not sufficiently defined. However from the proposed wordings the Panel assumes that the claimed effect refers to cognitive function that includes memory, attention (concentration), learning, intelligence and problem solving, which are well defined constructs and can be measured by validated psychometric cognitive tests.
The Panel considers that normal cognitive function is beneficial to human health.

3. Naukowe uzasadnienia wpływu na zdrowie człowieka - Wpływ na funkcje poznawcze

Five references were cited to substantiate the claimed effect. Four were reviews of studies of the molecular functioning of GABA receptors, and one was a report of an in vitro study of GABA receptors.
The Panel notes that none of the references provided directly address the relationship between the intake of GABA and cognitive function. The Panel notes that these references did not provide any scientific data that could be used to substantiate the claimed effect.
The Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the dietary intake of GABA and cognitive function.

Wnioski

On the basis of the data available, the Panel concludes that:
The food constituent, gamma-aminobutyric acid, which is the subject of the health claim is sufficiently characterised.
The claimed effect is “mental health”. The target population is assumed to be the general population. Normal cognitive function is beneficial to human health.
A cause and effect relationship has not been established between the dietary intake of gamma- aminobutyric acid and normal cognitive function.