Six Plant-Based Compounds Show Neuroprotective Potential

 Does your competent? doctor and hospital have enough functioning brain cells to see the word neuroprotection and realize this needs to be followed up to save brain cells immediately post stroke? NO? So, you DON'T have a functioning stroke doctor or hospital? RUN AWAY!

If your doctor has nothing on these maybe you want to ask when they will become competent in stroke rehab.

• sage (5 posts to April 2016)
• lemon balm (1 post to April 2016
• Bioactive Compounds from Elderberry: Extraction, Health Benefits, and Food Applications  September 2022          

Six Plant-Based Compounds Show Neuroprotective Potential

Summary: Researchers identified specific plant compounds that provide antioxidant and neuroprotective effects, contributing to brain health beyond basic nutrition. By analyzing plant-based foods like lemon balm, sage, and elderberry, scientists linked compounds such as phenolics and terpenes to benefits like reducing oxidative stress and scavenging harmful reactive species.

Quercetin-rich foods, such as Queen Garnet plum and clove, showed strong potential to prevent neuron-like cell damage. This study sheds light on how plant-based diets and supplements could support brain health and manage neuroinflammation-related conditions.

Key Facts:

• Phenolics and terpenes in plants show neuroprotective and antioxidant effects.
• Quercetin-rich foods prevent oxidative stress-induced neuron damage.
• Lemon balm, sage, and elderberry support brain health via distinct compound profiles.

Source: University of Wollongong

A new study by the University of Wollongong (UOW) has revealed why some plant-based foods have benefits beyond their nutritional value.

Led by Naomi May, a PhD candidate in the School of Medical, Indigenous and Health Sciences, the research found that different species of plant compounds were associated with various antioxidant effects, such as the ability to prevent oxidative stress-induced cell death in neuron-like cells, scavenge reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, and chelate metal ions. These contribute to neuronal damage and the progression of brain illnesses.

The research focused on six specific plant-based foods – Queen Garnet plum, black pepper, clove, elderberry, sage and lemon balm – and found they have antioxidant and protective effects on the brain. Credit: Neuroscience News

While the benefits of plant-based diets are well known, the study, published in Food & Function, sought to uncover which compounds were responsible for the positive effects on the brain.

The paper was co-authored by Dr Jiahua Shi, Helen Clunas, Dr Julianna Lys de Sousa Alves Neri, Dr Celine Kelso, Dr Jody Morgan, Dr Yinghua Yu, Professor Karen Charlton, and Associate Professor Katrina Weston-Green from UOW.  

The researchers were interested in the health benefits of various classes of plant compounds: phenolics, which can contribute to the plants colour, and terpenes, which are responsible for the flavour and fragrance of plants.

Naomi used mass spectrometry to measure the individual species of the plant compounds in order to determine which species are associated with various antioxidant and neuroprotective effects.

“Many plant-based foods have been shown to benefit our brain and overall health,” Naomi said. But until now, we haven’t known which complex mix of compounds packs the most punch.

“Why is lemon balm calming? How can sage help the body? Why are elderberries so beneficial to our immune system? We finally have data to begin to answer these questions.”

The research focused on six specific plant-based foods – Queen Garnet plum, black pepper, clove, elderberry, sage and lemon balm – and found they have antioxidant and protective effects on the brain. It also looked at over-the-counter complementary food supplements derived from these plants, including two blends rich in astralagus and lemon balm.

The astralagus supplement had the highest rates of phenolics, followed by the Queen Garnet plum, elderberry, and clove. In particular, these plant products were high in derivates of compound called quercetin, which was associated with an ability to prevent oxidative stress-induced cell death and chelate copper ions.

Black pepper had the strongest terpene concentration, followed by clove and sage, which was associated with an ability to reduce reactive oxygen species.

“This is the first research that has looked at the relationship between these species of compounds and different antioxidant abilities in these plants.

“We found significant positive relationships between the concentration of individual compounds measured and certain antioxidant abilities. This is important for understanding how these plant foods can be used to protect our brains and bodies from damage,” Naomi said.

“Understanding the phytochemical profile of plant foods is vital to understanding how they benefit and boost our brain health.

“There is a lot of potential to use plant-based foods as part of a toolkit to manage conditions caused by neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, such as neurodegenerative disease. They are also just great for our general health.”

About this diet and neuroscience research news

Author: India Glyde
Source: University of Wollongong
Contact: India Glyde – University of Wollongong
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: Closed access.
“Characterisation and quantification and phenolic, anthocyanidin and terpene species in plant foods and plant food-based complementary products with antioxidant and neuroprotective properties” by Naomi May et al. Food & Function

Herbs that can boost your mood and memory

I bet nothing here will change your non-existent stroke diet protocol.

Herbs that can boost your mood and memory

The herbs peppermint, chamomile, rosemary and lavender have been proven to have an impact on mood and memory, with significant benefits displayed for older people, according to new research from Northumbria University.
Researchers from the University’s Department of Psychology have found that drinking peppermint tea improves alertness, while chamomile tea has a calming effect. They also found that smelling the aromas of rosemary and lavender impacted on memory in people over 65, with the scent of rosemary enhancing their memory, while lavender impaired it.
The findings have been presented at the annual British Psychological Society Conference in Nottingham this week (26-28 April 2016).
In one study, the researchers asked 180 volunteers to consume either a chamomile or peppermint tea drink and tested their cognition and mood before and after drinking. A control group drank hot water for comparison.
They found that peppermint enhanced and aroused both mood and cognition, helping to improve long term memory, working memory and alertness, while chamomile had a calming and sedative effect which significantly slowed memory and attention speed.
In a separate study, 150 healthy people aged 65 and over were placed in rooms which had been scented with rosemary and lavender essential oils, or a control room which had no scent. They were asked to undertake tests that assessed their prospective memory – the ability to remember to do something at a given time, such as taking medication, or after receiving a prompt, such as posting a letter after seeing a post box. They also completed a mood assessment test.
Those who had been in the rosemary scented room displayed significantly enhanced prospective memory, with test scores 15% higher than those who had been in the room with no aroma. They were also more alert.
In contrast, those who had spent time in the lavender scented room displayed significantly increased calmness and contentedness, with a decrease in their ability to remember to do something at a given time.
Dr Mark Moss, Head of the Department of Psychology, said: “Peppermint has a reputation for being psychologically or mentally alerting. It picks you up and makes you feel a little bit brighter, so we endeavoured to test this out by giving people peppermint tea, or chamomile tea, which is a more calming drink and then put them through some computerised tests. We found that those people who had drunk the peppermint tea had better long-term memory. They were able to remember more words and pictures that they had seen. In contrast, the people who had the chamomile were slower in responding to tasks.
“Rosemary meanwhile has a reputation about being associated with memory – even Shakespeare said ‘rosemary is for remembrance’ – and it’s also associated with being invigorating. We have found that people are more alert after being in a room that has rosemary aroma in it. We tested prospective memory – our ability to remember to remember to do something – on people over 65 years of age, to see if we could improve their ability and we found that rosemary could do that. This is potentially very important because prospective memory, for example, enables you to remember to take your medication at certain times of the day.
“It is interesting to see the contrasting effects that different herbs can have on both mood and memory, and our research suggests that that they could have beneficial effects, particularly in older age groups. If you were otherwise healthy then this research suggests that there is an opportunity to have an improved memory.”
Northumbria University’s Department of Psychology has undertaken a number of studies into the effects of herbs and substances on mood and memory. They have also found that sage, ginseng, lemon balm and gingko biloba can all have positive effects on improving mental performance.
Northumbria is ranked in the top 20 in the UK for its research in psychology, which was judged to have outstanding reach and significance for its impact, according to the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, which measures the quality of research undertaken at UK universities.