Objective　VENETRON^® is a commercial botanical product extracted from the leaves of Apocynum venetum L. and is used as a supplement as well as in various functional food products. Sleep quality is an important health issue in modern society. Therefore, we examined the safety and efficacy of VENETRON^® in improvement of sleep quality and psychological stress.
Methods　In this randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled crossover study, 17 healthy adult participants with subjective dissatisfaction in their sleep quality orally ingested either 50 mg/day of VENETRON^® or placebo tablets for 8 days. The Uchida Kraepelin performance test（UK）and Uchida Kraepelin performance test questionnaire（UKQ）were performed to assess psychological stress. The Oguri-Shirakawa-Azumi Sleep Inventory MA version（OSA-MA）, immediately on rising questionnaire, and a sleep scan was performed to assess sleep quality.
Results　Several significant differences were observed between the groups that ingested the test product and placebo, including improvement in the initiation and maintenance of sleep in the OSA-MA, decrease in fluctuation rates of performance and increase in rate of resting effect in the UK, and decrease in mental stress feeling in the UKQ.
Discussion　Healthy participants with subjective dissatisfaction in their sleep quality showed improvements in sleep quality and reduction in psychological stress following ingestion of 50 mg/day A. venetum leaf extract（VENETRON^®）for 8 days. In addition, the test product appeared to be safe under the conditions employed in the present study.