Though we’re constantly exposed to ‘mood-boosting’ products, it is rare that we encounter something in the natural health field that is truly new. The South African supplement Zembrin is starting to make waves in the field of natural mood enhancement.
It’s important to clarify that Zembrin isn’t new in the strict sense of the word: it’s just new to us here in the U.S. In fact, it’s based on an herbal plant called Sceletium, known to decrease restlessness, anxious thoughts and alleviate stress (source.) Sceletium has been used as a traditional herbal remedy by indigenous Africans for over 300 years. In South Africa, it has been subject to numerous human and animal tests, and many researchers believe it could offer a hopeful new way to balance mood and reduce stress. Some studies have also concluded that it may help improve sleep quality as well as certain aspects of cognitive function.
Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? But what’s equally intriguing is how Zembrin is being produced, and what that means for both our environment and global economy. The way Zembrin is being manufactured offers a new business model in natural health, utilizing ethical, sustainable, and ecologically-sound practices. In today’s article, we take a closer look at what Zembrin is, and how its appearance in the U.S. could offer you a new option for natural mood enhancement. We’ll also look at how Zembrin’s business model is creating a new standard for the natural supplement industry. Read on to learn more!
Article At-A-Glance:
Among the indigenous people of South Africa, Sceletium was known for centuries by the name “kanna.” Kanna has traditionally been taken prior to stressful events to reduce anxiety and bolster cognitive function. Typically, kanna was either brewed as an herbal tea or simply chewed in order to absorb its effect.
Around the mid-90’s researchers began to investigate and work with indigenous people groups in order to glean from their knowledge of the herb. Scientists conducted fieldwork to determine which varieties of kanna were most effective and safe. Since that time, multiple animal and human studies have been conducted to test the effects of the herb in a controlled setting. So far, the results have been promising. Let’s take a closer look at what scientific research reveals.
1. Zembrin® May Help Us Resist Anxious Thoughts — From the scientific literature collected on Zembrin, we do know that it can play a role in our emotional processing. This is in part because it affects our Amygdala, the part of our brain that governs emotion (source.) Some research indicates that Zembrin may help reduce the intensity of anxious thoughts and feelings that accompanies a stressful event (source.) In a 2014 double-blinded study involving 21 healthy adults, researchers observed that Zembrin reduced stress and enhanced mood. Among the other findings, this study found that Zembrin led to statistically improved quality of sleep, reduction in fatigue, and less irritability, worry, and insecurity.
Another study of 15 young adults found that Sceletium had an anxiety-reducing effect when the subjects were under stress. Scans also revealed that there appeared to be less activity in the amygdala during an emotional response while taking the herb.
2. Zembrin® May Enhance ‘Cognitive Flexibility’ And Executive Function — What is cognitive flexibility? In a sense, it’s your ability to shift attention back and forth quickly between tasks while retaining important information. This is the function necessary for decision-making, impulse control, and forming strategies. In the 2014 study cited earlier, a team of researchers found that Zembrin significantly boosted cognitive flexibility, nearly doubling it on a test after a 3 week period.
The same study found that Zembrin had a similar effect on executive function. This is the faculty of your mind related to exercising initiative, proper judgment, and discipline. Executive function is also connected to goal-directed behavior and focus. After a trial of Zembrin, participants nearly doubled their score on executive functioning tests compared to a placebo.
3. Zembrin® May Help Boost Mood — In terms of its mood-elevating properties, Zembrin works on a couple of levels. On the one hand, it increases the concentration of serotonin between the synapses in our brain. Serotonin, as you may know, is one of our body’s important “feel-good” chemicals. It is also one of the neurotransmitters involved in regulating and balancing our sleep, mood, and many other functions. Zembrin works to slow down our nerve cells’ ability to reuse serotonin, which allows more of it to be produced in our brain. This is sometimes called serotonin reuptake inhibition.
Zembrin is also a PDE-4 inhibitor. PDE-4 is a key enzyme that is involved in breaking down a chemical messenger in our body called cAMP. Some research has linked low levels of cAMP to mood imbalance and emotional issues (source.) Zembrin works to inhibit PDE-4, which decreases the breakdown of cAMP in the body. Right now PDE-4 inhibition is a popular target in the scientific community for alleviating mood issues.
Not only is Zembrin changing the landscape of natural mood products; but it's also creating a new ethical standard for the health industry.
Like many natural health supplements, Zembrin’s ingredients are based on traditional herbs cultivated by centuries of indigenous use. Unlike many other companies, however, the manufacturers of Zembrin have included the indigenous people of Africa in their shareholders' agreement. Zembrin has created Africa’s first-ever benefit-sharing agreement with the original knowledge holders, the South African San Council. The San people are paid royalties for every bottle of Zembrin sold. As a result of their agreement, Zembrin is the only sceletium product that carries the logo of its indigenous beneficiaries.
Sceletium is a protected species in South Africa, and harvesting it in the wild is not a sustainable practice for making commercial products. From the outset, the manufacturers of Zembrin were committed to only using cultivated plants to avoid depleting the endangered wild sceletium. To accomplish this, Zembrin created a new crop development program that allows them to cultivate their own selection of Sceletium on a commercial scale. This not only helps the environment; it also helps ensure consistency in product quality.
No longer just a South African product, Zembrin is now available in stores across the country. It is packaged as part of a combination supplement called Procera Mood. This formula contains a combination of ingredients designed to work synergistically to help alleviate stress and promote a sense of calm. Procera Mood contains not only Zembrin, but it also includes stress-fighting herbs such as Ashwagandha, Rhodiola Rosea, and American Ginseng. Here’s what a few customers are saying about Procera Mood:
"I had been having major issues with anxiousness for no apparent reason really, and I would stress out very easily. I was at the store looking for cold meds for my little girl, and I accidentally ended up in the vitamin aisle. This quickly caught my eye, and it was almost like I was meant to find it. I was skeptical at first, and I literally stood in the aisle and Googled 'Procera Mood' for 15 minutes. I didn’t find any bad reviews so I thought, “What the hey.” I LOVE IT! I don’t dwell on anything anymore and my brain is so sharp. I don’t know why everyone doesn’t take this!"
Another customer sent us the following message:
"Thank you for making this natural mood stabilizer; it has changed my life! And my five-year-old daughter notices the difference in my mood. I didn’t know when I was ever going to feel this way again."
Researchers are still in the early phase of understanding just how many benefits Zembrin may offer. But what we do know is that centuries of traditional use are starting to be verified by scientific research. Zembrin could offer a hopeful new avenue to finding emotional balance. It also could change the way the natural health industry does business--for the better. If you’re interested in trying Zembrin, check out Procera Mood. On our product page, you can find further information about the supplement and how you can order some for yourself.