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A HAWAIIAN PLANT · A JAPANESE MOUSE STUDY
In a Japanese Mouse Study, the Part of This Hawaiian Plant Nobody Brews Showed the Strongest Memory Results.
Mike Nakamura started drinking iced māmaki tea on his Hawaiʻi Island farm and began to feel sharper. So he sent the plant to researchers in Osaka. They compared three preparations in four mouse models, and the results weren’t equal.
You know the moment.
The name is right there. You can see the face. You can almost hear the voice. And the word just won’t come.
Most of us laugh it off. But somewhere past fifty, a lot of people start quietly paying closer attention to moments like that, and to anything that might help their mind stay sharp.
Mike Nakamura wasn’t looking for anything like that.
He and his wife, Jackie, had left Chicago for an 11-acre farm on Hawaiʻi Island’s Hāmākua Coast. There he found māmaki, a plant that grows naturally nowhere else on Earth, and started brewing its leaves the way Hawaiians have for generations. On hot days he poured it over ice and drank it while he worked.
After a while, Mike noticed something he hadn’t expected. His thinking felt clearer. Staying focused felt easier.
Mike knew a feeling isn’t proof. So he did something unusual for a farmer.
He sent the plant to scientists.
More than 4,000 miles away, at Osaka Metropolitan University, researchers didn’t just brew it. They compared three different ways of preparing the plant, side by side.
And the part Hawaiians have brewed for generations wasn’t the one that stood out most.
4,000 miles to Osaka
Mike sent māmaki from his farm across the Pacific to a research team at Osaka Metropolitan University in Japan, a group that studies how the brain changes with age.
The team didn’t just brew Mike’s plant and test the tea. They prepared it three different ways and tested each one side by side.
Their results were published in 2023 in GeroScience, a peer-reviewed journal about the biology of aging.
GeroScienceOriginal article · 2023
Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan
Three māmaki preparations (a hot-water leaf extract, crushed whole leaf and crushed fruit) were each given to mice for one month, in four mouse models used to study age-related brain decline.
The question wasn’t simply whether māmaki did anything. It was which part of the plant, prepared which way, did the most.
The part of the plant nobody brews
The researchers tested each preparation for one month in four different mouse models used to study age-related brain decline. Here’s what they reported, in plain English:
- Hot-water extractEffective
- Crushed leafHigher
- Crushed fruitStrongestas reported, in mice
- Hot-water leaf extract (the closest thing to a cup of tea): the mice did better on memory tests and showed less brain inflammation and healthier synapses.
- Crushed whole leaf: stronger results than the extract.
- Crushed fruit: the strongest of all. It was also linked to higher BDNF, a protein involved in growing and maintaining brain cells, and to more new neurons in the mice.
Source: Umeda et al., GeroScience, 2023. DOI 10.1007/s11357-023-00950-y
What the researchers measured
Then the researchers tried something revealing. They mixed the three best-known compounds in māmaki (catechins, chlorogenic acid and rutin) and tested the mixture on its own.
Catechins
Chlorogenic acid
Rutin
Whole crushed fruit
It didn’t fully match the fruit.
Whatever was happening in those mice, it wasn’t one magic molecule. It was the whole plant, and how it was prepared.
Before you read further: what this study can’t tell you
- It was done in mice, not people.
- It did not test the Mamaki Memory capsule.
- It doesn’t show that māmaki prevents or treats any disease.
- Nobody can promise what you’ll personally experience. That’s why the kit carries a 90-day money-back guarantee.
Want to see what Mike made from this?
See the 90-Day Starter Kit →One-time purchase. No subscription.
“So why not just drink the tea?”
It’s the first thing most people ask. The tea is lovely, and Mike still drinks it every day.
But in the study, the preparations that kept the whole crushed plant did better than the hot-water extract. And the fruit, the part that never goes in a teapot, did best of all.
That’s why Mamaki Memory isn’t a tea extract. Each capsule is pure māmaki leaf and fruit powder, grown in Hawaiʻi. One capsule a day, no brewing, no steeping, no remembering to make a pot.
Our capsule wasn’t the thing tested in Osaka, and results in mice don’t guarantee results in people. But if you’ve followed the story this far, you can see why Mike made it this way: to support memory, recall and focus as part of a simple daily routine.
Why Mike cares
On a trip to his family’s ancestral homeland in Japan, Mike stood at a stone memorial to his ancestor, Nakamura Kōun (1797–1865), an herbalist who searched the mountains for useful local plants and left loquat-leaf tea by the road for weary travelers. Kōun never saw Hawaiʻi. But generations later, his descendant was doing the same thing on the other side of the Pacific: noticing an overlooked plant, and asking what it might do for other people.
What customers notice
★★★★★
“I was surprised that after just a few weeks that my recall of names and where I placed items has improved noticeably. … Mamaki Memory is now on my schedule of daily supplements!”
ScottVerified customer
★★★★★
“…I do know that I’m not struggling as much to find the word I’m looking for. I’d say that’s a good thing.”
Victoria F.Verified customer
Individual experiences. Results vary.
Why 90 days
Your memory holds the names, the stories and the small details of the people around you. It connects you to everyone you love.
One bottle is a 30-day supply, and a new daily routine deserves longer than that. The 90-Day Starter Kit gives you three bottles at once, so you can take it every day, pay attention to how you feel, and decide for yourself. The guarantee covers the same 90 days.
The complete routine
The Mamaki Memory 90-Day Starter Kit
- 3 bottles of Mamaki Memory, a 90-day supply
- 1 oz bag of Hawaiian whole-leaf māmaki tea, included
- Free U.S. shipping
- One-time purchase, no subscription
$88.99
Less than $1 a day for the 90-day supply.
See the 90-Day Starter Kit →90-day money-back guarantee. If it isn’t right for you, email us within 90 days and we’ll refund your full purchase. No return shipping required, and you can keep the tea.
Questions people ask
What’s in each capsule?
One ingredient: māmaki (Pipturus albidus) leaf and fruit powder, grown in Hawaiʻi. Each bottle holds 30 capsules, a 30-day supply at one capsule a day. The full Supplement Facts panel is on the next page.
How is this different from drinking māmaki tea?
Tea is a hot-water extract: you steep the leaves, then throw them away. Mamaki Memory keeps the whole crushed plant, including the fruit, which never goes in a teapot. In the Osaka mouse study, the crushed preparations did better than the hot-water extract. The kit also includes a bag of whole-leaf māmaki tea, so you can enjoy both.
Does it contain caffeine?
No. Māmaki is naturally caffeine-free, and Mamaki Memory contains nothing but māmaki.
Is this a subscription?
No. The 90-Day Starter Kit is a one-time purchase. You won’t be signed up for a subscription or charged again.
What if it isn’t right for me?
Give it the full 90 days. If it isn’t right for you, email us within 90 days and we’ll refund your full purchase. No return shipping is required, and you can keep the tea.
References and disclosures
- Umeda T, Shigemori K, Uekado R, Matsuda K, Tomiyama T. “Hawaiian native herb Mamaki prevents dementia by ameliorating neuropathology and repairing neurons in four different mouse models of neurodegenerative diseases.” GeroScience. Published online October 2, 2023; volume 46, pages 1971–1987 (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s11357-023-00950-y.
- The study described above involved mouse models. It was not a human clinical trial and did not test the finished Mamaki Memory supplement.
- Mike Nakamura’s statements about how he felt while drinking māmaki tea describe his personal experience and do not establish causation or predict another person’s experience.
Advertising disclosure: This is sponsored content presented by Mamaki Memory. It is an advertisement, not an independent news report.
Image disclosure: Images labeled “Editorial illustration” or “Editorial reenactment” were created for this story and are not photographs of the people, places or research described.
FDA disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
General wellness notice: Information on this page is provided for general educational purposes and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Consult a qualified healthcare professional before starting a new dietary supplement, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, have a medical condition or take medication.