Ferulic Acid Esters for Precise Mental Performance Enhancement

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current mental performance-enhancing substances, particularly herbal preparations, often lack a causal connection between bioactive substances and their effects, leading to fluctuating concentrations and effectiveness due to non-standardized extracts, making precise dosing challenging.

Innovation Solution

Development of specific compounds, such as lipophilic esters of cinnamic acid derivatives like ferulic acid esters, which have proven causal activity in increasing mental performance, allowing for precise dosage and stable effectiveness.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If plant extracts are standardized to individual components, then analytical criteria are met and confusion with similar plants is avoided, but the bioactive substance may not match the reference substance leading to variable concentrations and fluctuating effectiveness

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveanalytical precisionVSAvoideffectiveness consistency
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and isolates the specific bioactive substance (ferulic acid or its derivatives) from complex plant extracts to create a standardized reference substance. This ensures that the reference substance directly corresponds to the causally active component, eliminating the mismatch problem while maintaining analytical precision.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the concentration parameter of the bioactive substance to be precisely controlled and standardized. By defining specific concentration ranges and using standardized extracts with known amounts of ferulic acid derivatives, the patent ensures both analytical precision and reliable, consistent effectiveness across different batches.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Adaptability or versatility

If plant extracts are used with variable concentrations of bioactive ingredients, then product diversity is maintained, but dosing precision becomes incorrect and effectiveness fluctuates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveproduct diversityVSAvoiddosing precision
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent enables the product to self-regulate dosing precision through standardized extracts with defined bioactive substance concentrations. The standardized reference substance serves as an internal reference that ensures accurate dosing without requiring complex external validation, while still allowing product diversity through different formulations and combinations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

3Ease of manufacture

If herbal preparations are used to improve memory, then natural origin substances are provided, but the causal relationship between substances and effects remains unknown

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenatural substance availabilityVSAvoidcausal mechanism knowledge
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses ferulic acid and its derivatives as intermediary substances that bridge the gap between natural plant extracts and proven memory-enhancing effects. These intermediaries have established causal relationships with memory improvement, allowing the patent to maintain the natural origin benefit while eliminating the uncertainty about causal mechanisms through standardized, well-characterized compounds.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP3713604B1Compound for use in the increasing of mental capability
Publication Date: 2023.06.07 LEIBNIZ INST FUER NEUROBIOLOGIE LIN STIFTUNG DES OEFFENTLICHEN RECHTS
  • EP3713604B1 patent drawingFigure 1A
  • EP3713604B1 patent drawingFigure 1B
  • EP3713604B1 patent drawingFigure 2A

AI summary

The invention relates to a compound, to the stereoisomers, enantiomers or diastereomers thereof, to the physiologically acceptable salts thereof and to mixtures of said compound for use in the increasing of mental capability. The invention further relates to a pharmaceutical composition. The increasing of mental capability is tested in learning experiments with Drosophila melanogaster larvae or older animals, which are raised with standard feed mash or with different concentrations of FSE-20 in the feed mash. In the learning experiment, the animals are each subjected to one of two inverse training regimens and then subjected to a test. In the training, a first scent (white square) was presented with the feed reward (fructose) (white circle with longitudinal stripes) to the first group, while a second scent (black square) was presented alone (white circle without the longitudinal stripes) to the first group. The second group was trained inversely. In the test of the learning experiment, it was subsequently examined whether the larvae of both groups prefer the first scent or the second scent in a selection situation, and thus their learning and memory capability (performance index) was determined.