Scientific Research on Maharishi Ayurveda

anti-aging > anti-aging study 6

Anti-Aging, Neurophysiology and Intelligence Study #6

Title
Influence of a Maharishi Ayurvedaic Herbal Preparation [MAK-5] on Age-Related Visual Discrimination

Publication
International Journal of Psychosomatics, Vol. 37, Nos. 1-4, pp. 25-29, 1990.

Authors
P. Gelderloos, SScD, H.H.B. Ahlstrom, MS, D.W. Orme-Johnson, PhD, D.K. Robinson, MS, R.K. Wallace, PhD, and J.L. Glaser, MD.

Conducted at
Maharishi University of Management, Fairfield, IA

Summary
An ancient system of natural medicine—Maharishi Ayurvedaa—prescribes certain herbal formulas to enhance cognitive functioning, prevent illness, and alleviate the detrimental effects of the aging process. A double-blind study was conducted to test the effect of an Ayurvedic herbal preparation, Maharishi Amrit Kalash (MAK-5), on an age-related alertness task. Forty-eight men over 35 years of age were randomly assigned to receive MAK-5 tablets or a closely matched placebo twice daily for six weeks. A visual discrimination task consisted of the identification of the exact location of a stimulus "v" within an array of "x" symbols in tachistoscopic presentations. The MAK-5 group improved significantly more in their performance of this task after three and six weeks of treatment relative to the placebo group. Performance was highly correlated with age, and because successful performance apparently requires an unrestricted flow of homogeneous attention as well as focalized concentration, it is concluded that MAK-5 may enhance attentional capacity or alertness, and thus reverse some of the detrimental cognitive effects of aging.