Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34541370›Full record

ReviewJournal of clinical and translational research2021

The effects of twenty-one nutrients and phytonutrients on cognitive function: A narrative review.

John E Lewis, Jillian Poles, Delaney P Shaw, Elisa Karhu, Sher Ali Khan, Annabel E Lyons, Susana Barreiro Sacco, H Reginald McDaniel

Open access · diamondAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of clinical and translational research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
28citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
8.2field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

28 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Effects ofFrontiers in nutrition · 2026
    Trial
  5. Article
  6. The acute effects of Zensera™ (Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology · 2026
    Article
  7. Review
  8. Observational
  9. The effect ofBJPsych open · 2025
    Review
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024
    Article
  17. Review
  18. The British journal of nutrition · 2024
    Review
  19. Review
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

John E LewisDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
Jillian PolesDepartment of Exercise and Sport Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Delaney P ShawInstitute of Human Nutrition, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Elisa KarhuDepartment of Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
Sher Ali KhanDepartment of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
Annabel E LyonsSchool of Nursing and Health Studies, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA.
Susana Barreiro SaccoDepartment of Internal Medicine, Mount Sinai Medical Center Miami Beach, FL, USA.
H Reginald McDanielWellness Quest, LLC, Grand Prairie, TX, USA.
University of Miami · USColumbia University · USUniversity of New Mexico · USUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

aimBrain health is becoming more important to the average person as the number of people with cognitive impairments, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), is rising significantly. The current Food and Drug Administration-approved pharmacotherapeutics for dementia neither cure nor halt cognitive decline; they just delay the worsening cognitive impairment. This narrative review summarizes the effects of nutrients and phytonutrients on cognitive function.

methodsA comprehensive literature search of PubMed was performed to find clinical trials in humans that assessed the effects of nutrients and phytonutrients on cognitive function published in English between 2000 and 2021. Six independent reviewers evaluated the articles for inclusion in this review.

resultsNinety-six articles were summarized in this narrative review. In total 21 categories of nutrients and phytonutrients were included, i.e., α-lipoic acid,

conclusionDue to the growing population of people with cognitive impairment and the lack of effective pharmacotherapeutics, it is prudent for those afflicted or their caregivers to find alternative treatments. Our narrative review shows that many of these nutrients and phytonutrients may be promising for treating some aspects of cognitive impairment, especially for people afflicted with AD. RELEVANCE FOR PATIENTS: As demonstrated in a number of clinical trials, healthy adults and patients with various health challenges (e.g., AD, mild cognitive impairment, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease) exhibiting a wide range of severity in cognitive defects would be best served to consider multiple nutrients and phytonutrients to improve aspects of their cognitive function.

Indexed as

Alzheimer’s diseasecognitive functioncognitive impairmentmemorynutrientsphytonutrients

Identifiers

PMID34541370
PMCPMC8445631
OpenAlexW3201056521

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.