ReviewAdvances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.)2011
Herbal extracts and phytochemicals: plant secondary metabolites and the enhancement of human brain function.
Review in Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 164 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
164 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 665 citations in OpenAlex.
- Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines in the Treatment of Ejaculatory Disorders: A Systematic Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Pooled it
- Neuronutraceuticals Combating Neuroinflammaging: Molecular Insights and Translational Challenges-A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- Exploring the global mosaic of medicinal plant databases: unveiling nature's pharmacopoeia.Natural products and bioprospecting · 2026Review
- Neurological Effects ofNutrients · 2026Article
- Plant-derived soft electrophiles upregulate pro-resolving oxylipins in a paraquat-inducedbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Amorphous solid dispersions as a strategy to enhance the bioavailability and stability of formulations containing plant active ingredients: An integrative review.Daru : journal of Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences · 2026Review
- The acute effects of Zensera™ (Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Innovative Approaches to Extracting Phenolics fromFoods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Yield and Quality of Walnuts Subjected to Deficit Irrigation in Mountainous Water-Starved Environments.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Effectiveness and the synergism effects of Ipomoea cairica leaf plant extract and Metarhizium anisopliae fungi (Meta-G4) against larvae of Aedes aegypti Linnaeus and Aedes albopictus Skuse (Diptera: Culicidae).Journal of insect science (Online) · 2025Article
- Mobilizing Stockpile of Nature: Phytochemicals, Herbal Extracts, and Dietary Supplements for Managing Metabolic Diseases with Concentric Focus on Obesity.Endocrine, metabolic & immune disorders drug targets · 2025Review
- Allocryptopine, tetrahydropalmatine, and tetrahydroberberine N-oxide alkaloids alleviate cellular stress by modulating calcium homeostasis and the MAPK and akt/GSK-3β/tau signaling pathways.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- OptimizedJournal of pharmacy & pharmaceutical sciences : a publication of the Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Societe canadienne des sciences pharmaceutiques · 2025Article
- Unveiling the Therapeutic Potential ofBioMed research international · 2025Article
- Phytochemical Characterization and Assessment of Antioxidant and Anti-Alzheimer Effects of Algerian Seseli Tortuosum.Chemistry & biodiversity · 2025Article
- Phytophenols as Promoieties for Prodrug Design.Current drug discovery technologies · 2025Review
- Plant-based secondary metabolites as natural remedies: a comprehensive review on terpenes and their therapeutic applications.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Neuropharmacological Interventions of Plant Origin for Parkinson's Disease: A Comprehensive Appraisal.Current neuropharmacology · 2025Review
- Enhanced Synthesis of Volatile Compounds by UV-B Irradiation inMetabolites · 2024Article
- Hypoglycemic and antioxidant activities ofHeliyon · 2024Article
104 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Humans consume a wide range of foods, drugs, and dietary supplements that are derived from plants and which modify the functioning of the central nervous sytem (CNS). The psychoactive properties of these substances are attributable to the presence of plant secondary metabolites, chemicals that are not required for the immediate survival of the plant but which are synthesized to increase the fitness of the plant to survive by allowing it to interact with its environment, including pathogens and herbivorous and symbiotic insects. In many cases, the effects of these phytochemicals on the human CNS might be linked either to their ecological roles in the life of the plant or to molecular and biochemical similarities in the biology of plants and higher animals. This review assesses the current evidence for the efficacy of a range of readily available plant-based extracts and chemicals that may improve brain function and which have attracted sufficient research in this regard to reach a conclusion as to their potential effectiveness as nootropics. Many of these candidate phytochemicals/extracts can be grouped by the chemical nature of their potentially active secondary metabolite constituents into alkaloids (caffeine, nicotine), terpenes (ginkgo, ginseng, valerian, Melissa officinalis, sage), and phenolic compounds (curcumin, resveratrol, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, Hypericum perforatum, soy isoflavones). They are discussed in terms of how an increased understanding of the relationship between their ecological roles and CNS effects might further the field of natural, phytochemical drug discovery.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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 OpenQuestion graph.