Gamtae extract shown to ease stress and tension, not just aid sleep

"We thought it was only good for sleep disorders — turns out it also relieves stress and tension."

The Korea Food Research Institute announced Sunday that a gamtae extract has been recognized by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety as an individually approved functional ingredient for helping relieve tension caused by stress.

Gamtae (Ecklonia cava) is a brown alga that grows naturally in Korean coastal waters, including those off Jeju Island, and is rich in phlorotannins — polyphenolic compounds unique to seaweed. The newly approved extract is standardized using dieckol, its primary active component, as the index substance.

A research team led by Eom Min-young, director of the Functional Platform Research Division at the Korea Food Research Institute, confirmed the tension-relieving effects of the gamtae extract and dieckol in animal models subjected to prolonged repeated stress and in models where depression and anxiety were induced through corticosterone administration. The extract restored depression- and anxiety-related behavioral indicators to levels comparable to those of a normal control group. The team also found that it suppressed overactivation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, restored neurotransmitter balance, and increased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) — mechanisms that together help alleviate stress, anxiety and depression and promote tension relief.

The effects were also confirmed in a human clinical trial. Adults reporting stress consumed 500 milligrams of gamtae extract daily for eight weeks, after which researchers assessed stress response and depression- and anxiety-related scales. Compared with a placebo control group, participants showed significant improvements on the Stress Response Inventory (SRI), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (K-BAI). Changes in BDNF, a biomarker associated with tension relief, were also observed, further supporting the scientific basis for the ingredient's tension-relieving function.

The institute also plans to pursue listing the gamtae extract as a "notified functional ingredient," a broader regulatory category. Such a designation would allow more domestic food companies to use the ingredient, and is expected to contribute to the expansion of Korea's seaweed-based functional food industry and the higher-value utilization of marine resources.

"This research outcome means that gamtae extract has now secured a scientific basis not only in the area of sleep health but also in stress management," Eom said. "We will continue follow-up research to extend this new functional designation toward notified-ingredient status, and work to strengthen the competitiveness of Korea's marine functional ingredient industry."

The findings were published in the international academic journals Journal of Functional Foods and Phytomedicine.