Chinese scientist, writing in the Journal Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, make a case for the traditional Chinese medicine’s use as a dietary supplement in improving sleep duration and quality.
The team point to the extract’s ability to prolong the duration of total sleep (TS), slow wave sleep (SWS) and rapid eye movement sleep (REMS).
The researchers, from Beijing’s Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science and also Wageningen University and Research, point to the extract’s effect of reducing sodium (Na) and potassium (K) flow in neuronal cells.
The effect is also accompanied by a suppression of neuronal excitability via increasing the neuronal action potential threshold.
“The current study suggests a novel and convincing link between neuronal excitability and flavonoids with sedative function,” the team states.
“These results confirm that 7-di-O-methylnaringenin (DMN) and 2’-O-methylisoliquiritigenin (MIL) may be the main active components in peanut stem and leaf (PSL) extract, which can significantly improve sleep by regulating the Na and K channels and excitability of neurons.”
DMN and MIL
DMN, a derivative of dihydroflavone and MIL, a free chalconeglycogen, were according to the team, flavonoids that did not show up in a literature search for all flavonoids with ion channels-regulating effects.
The team adds that the experiment findings, “further expand the range of functional flavonoids and suggest a potential approach for the development of sleep-promoting drugs to treat insomnia.”