Lee Swanson Reserach UPdate
Lee Swanson, President Swanson Vitamins
Dear Friends and Valued Customers, We often make fun of forgetfulness, but in reality memory loss is no laughing matter. Sure, we all forget things now and then…that’s only natural. However, the onset of age-related neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's can be devastating. In a recent study researchers at Tufts University, Boston, stated: "In cases of severe deficits in memory or motor function, hospitalization and/or custodial care would be a likely outcome." They added: "Thus, it is extremely important to explore methods to retard or reverse age-related neuronal deficits, as well as their subsequent behavioral manifestations, to increase healthy aging." In an attempt to realize their goal, the researchers looked at the polyphenolic compounds found in berry fruits. They discovered that one of those compounds, pterostilbene, provided support for slowing mental decline. Check out my report below to find out more about this intriguing study. Moving from berries to seeds, another group of researchers has found that extracts from grape seeds may help promote oral health. Read on to learn more about this study, published recently in the journal Food Chemistry. As always, I wish you the very best of health.
Berry extracts may ease age-related mental decline
January 2009
Old lab rats fed a diet supplemented with a compound from berries and grapes called pterostilbene performed better in mental challenges than their un-supplemented counterparts, according to a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
The results indicated that in aging rats, pterostilbene was effective in reversing the decline in cognitive function that occurs naturally with age, and that precedes diseases such as Alzheimer's.
The improvements in the working memory of the animals was associated with pterostilbene levels in the hippocampus region of the brain, said the researchers from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, and the ARS Natural Products Utilization Research Laboratory in Oxford, MS.
The researchers, led by Barbara Shukitt-Hale, performed two studies. The first involved screening seven different stilbene compounds in cell cultures. This led to the identification of pterostilbene as the most effective at preventing oxidative stress.
The second study involved separating aged rats into three groups, and feeding them a control diet or the control diet adjusted to include high or low concentrations of pterostilbene. Shukitt-Hale and her co-workers report that, in the aging rats, the compound was associated with a reverse in cognitive decline and in improvement in the working memory of the animals.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 56(3):636-641, 2008
Grape seed extract could help boost oral health
January 2009
Extracts from grape seeds may exert an antimicrobial effect and reduce levels of bad-breath and periodontitis-causing bacteria, according to a study conducted in France. "Recognition of the biological properties of polyphenolic compounds has led to the use of grape seed extract as a dietary supplement," wrote lead author Aurelie Furiga from the University Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2. "Our study demonstrated that such health benefits could be helpful in the fight against periodontal diseases."
Periodontitis is a serious gum infection that destroys the soft tissue and bone supporting the teeth. It is reportedly the second most common disease worldwide, and affects 30% to 50% of the U.S. population.
The Bordeaux-based researchers tested grape seed extract (97% polyphenols) on two anaerobic bacteria associated with the disease: Porphyromonas gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum.
The extracts showed good antibacterial activity, as evidenced by the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of the test compound against the two strains. For P. gingivalis a MIC of 4,000 micrograms per milliliter (ug/ml) was recorded, while for F. nucleatum a value of 2,000 ug/ml was reported. Furiga and her co-workers report a minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) two and four times higher for P. gingivalis and F. nucleatum, respectively.
The researchers also tested the efficacy of the extracts in the presence of biofilm. "Dental plaque, implicated in oral diseases, is a very complex biofilm, which gives to bacteria a protection against antimicrobial agents," explained Furiga. "So another important step of our investigation was to evaluate the activity of our polyphenolic extract on an experimental multi-species biofilm validated by various studies."
The researchers saw optimal activity against the biofilm with a concentration of 2,000 ug/ml of grape seed extract.
Also, antioxidant activity higher than vitamins C and E was recorded for the extracts. The benefits were explained by Furiga and her co-workers: "Periodontitis is initiated by the subgingival biofilm but the progression of destructive disease appears to be dependent upon an abnormal host response. Excess of reactive oxygen species release is implicated in the inflammatory process."
"Proanthocyanidins contained in grape seed extracts have potent antioxidant properties and should be considered a potential agent in the prevention of periodontal diseases," the researchers said. "So it is not surprising that our extract, rich in polyphenolic compounds, possessed high antioxidant activity."
Food Chemistry 113(4):1037-1040, 2008
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