Prevagen, Jellyfish and the Brain

If you buy apoaequorin — a protein that comes from the Aequorea victoria jellyfish — to help preserve your memory, well, you might get stung.

The maker of the supplement Prevagen, whose main ingredient is apoaequorin, has claimed for years that its product improves memory. But a small body of research and a few lawsuits against the supplement company, Quincy Bioscience, beg to differ.

In theory, apoaequorin is supposed to regulate calcium levels in the brain by binding to calcium. What does that have to do with brain health? Too much calcium in the brain is connected with aging and cell death. So the idea is that a substance that keeps calcium levels at bay would benefit brain function and potentially help prevent Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. But there’s no real evidence that the supplement does that.

Among only a handful of studies that examined the effects of the jellyfish protein, just one showed any benefit for human brain function. But the study didn’t prove that the supplement was better than a placebo for the study population, which is typically the minimum requirement to demonstrate the benefits of such a product. Yet Quincy Bioscience touts its product as clinically proven to help with mild memory problems.

In 2017, the Federal Trade Commission and the New York State Attorney General sued Quincy Bioscience alleging that the company engaged in deceptive acts and practices by circulating claims about Prevagen without reliable scientific evidence. After several years of litigation, a jury agreed with the FTC and New York state, concluding in March 2024 that the company's claims are, indeed, false or misleading. Meanwhile, Prevagen is still available for sale, and its labels still read “improves memory.”

AARP’s Global Council on Brain Health, an independent panel of scientists, health care providers and other experts, reviewed the scientific research available on the brain benefits of apoaequorin and does not recommend taking it for brain health. And AARP has joined other advocacy organizations to speak out against the company’s misleading marketing.