Givaudan’s Cereboost proves performance benefits

Givaudan has announced successful results from a new open-label clinical study demonstrating that its patented American ginseng extract, Cereboost, delivers measurable improvements in driving performance.

The study, conducted in partnership with Michigan State University (MSU) and PitFit Inc, a premier training facility for professional racecar drivers in Indianapolis, US, provides compelling evidence for food and beverage manufacturers looking to develop high-performance cognitive products.

The research focused on assessing the impact of two weeks of Cereboost supplementation on the reaction time and driving metrics of professional racecar drivers, a group requiring extreme focus and split-second decision-making.

The study revealed several notable improvements:

• Faster lap time: drivers who took Cereboost showed a significant reduction in the fastest lap time (3 seconds).
• Throttle response: participants demonstrated significantly faster throttle application on corners, indicating improved real-time reaction and decision-making speed.

These results validate the ingredient’s potential to support cognitive performance under highly demanding, real-world conditions.

Beyond the objective data, the professional drivers reported highly positive subjective effects after taking Cereboost:

• 94% agreed Cereboost effectively enhanced their focus.
• 91% perceived the effects faster than other products they had tried previously.

Jim Leo, CEO of PitFit, commented: “Cereboost was an obvious choice, as it’s backed by peer-reviewed research to support attention and focus. As the industry leader in human performance coaching for motorsports, PitFit has always taken a proactive approach to researching anything that might improve our clients’ performance.”

The successful study provides manufacturers with confidence in formulating products around Cereboost, a key ingredient in the rapidly expanding “Mind & Energy” category.

“Working with Michigan State University and PitFit gave us the opportunity to evaluate the real-world benefits of an already clinically studied ingredient and understand how athlete drivers perceived its effect, getting us closer to understanding consumer perception,” said Romain Le Cozannet, mind & energy category technical leader at Givaudan Taste & Wellbeing.

The data supports the ingredient’s core benefit proposition: think faster, perform better, offering a clear value proposition for functional beverages, sports nutrition, and energy products aiming for a performance edge.

Full results of the new study are available here and all the Cereboost clinical studies in one review here.