The herbal compound that could reverse Alzheimer’s

There are ways to reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s, even with a genetic predisposition, such as following a good diet, exercising and getting quality sleep.

However, once you have Alzheimer’s, there’s precious little you can do to stop the damage it does to your brain.

Researchers are working feverishly to change that dynamic…

One such team of California-based researchers has hit upon a natural compound found in two common herbs that could transform the Alzheimer’s treatment field…

Rosemary, sage and Alzheimer’s relief

Past research has linked rosemary and sage oils with improved memory. In one study, researchers put subjects in a room with an essential oil diffuser containing rosemary oil. These participants were better able to remember events and more likely to remember to complete future tasks.

These herbs both contain antioxidants with anti-inflammatory effects, but it hasn’t been clear exactly which properties in the herbs were responsible for impacting memory — until now.

A team from the Scripps Research Institute analyzed rosemary and sage and isolated a compound known as carnosic acid found in both.

Then, they used that compound to create a drug, diAcCA, that they administered to mice bred to develop Alzheimer’s-like symptoms, including memory loss and brain damage, by the time they’re about five months old.

Once the mice reached the five-month-old mark, the researchers gave them either diAcCA or plain olive oil three times a week for three months. They tried 10-, 20- or 50-milligram doses to see which worked best.

After three months, the scientists ran cognitive tests on the mice. One test involved a water maze where the mice swam in a pool to find a hidden platform they could stand on. Healthy mice improved their ability to locate the platform over time, but the Alzheimer’s mice struggled with this task.

Another memory test involved inducing fear so that mice learn to freeze when they hear a sound linked to a mild shock.

To say the results were astounding is putting it mildly…

In the water maze test, mice given diAcCA, especially at higher doses, swam to the platform faster and spent more time where it used to be, showing they remembered its location better than the untreated Alzheimer’s mice. They also froze more often in the fear test, proving their memory was better.

Their brains looked healthier as well and exhibited more brain connections…

“By combating inflammation and oxidative stress with this diAcCA compound, we actually increased the number of synapses in the brain,” says senior author and professor Stuart Lipton, MD, PhD, the Step Family Foundation Endowed Chair at Scripps Research and a clinical neurologist in La Jolla, California. “We also took down other misfolded or aggregated proteins such as phosphorylated-tau and amyloid-β [plaques], which are thought to trigger Alzheimer’s disease and serve as biomarkers of the disease process.”

Towards reversing Alzheimer’s

Even better? Lipton said, “…it didn’t just slow down the decline; it improved virtually back to normal.”

Until now, it’s been tough to use carnosic acid as a drug or supplement in its pure form. But the Scripps team’s derivative of carnosic acid proved capable of reaching the gut before breaking down, so it could be absorbed into the bloodstream.

In fact, the mice in the study absorbed 20 percent more carnosic acid through diAcCA than they would have from ingesting pure carnosic acid. This allowed more of the compound to pass through the blood-brain barrier.

Another interesting property of diAcCA is that it’s only activated by the inflammation it’s trying to fight. This means its activity will be limited only to those areas of the brain suffering from inflammation, limiting any possible side effects involving damage to healthy tissue.

The researchers believe not only will diAcCA potentially save lives, it shouldn’t cause any major side effects. Moreover, since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration already considers carnosic acid a “safe” substance, it likely will fast-track any new treatment based on the compound, getting it to Alzheimer’s patients more quickly.

In addition, diAcCA could help existing Alzheimer’s treatments work better by eliminating the additional brain inflammation that usually blunts their effectiveness.

It could be years before any treatments come out of this research, given that the drug still needs to be tested in humans. In the meantime, adding more rosemary and sage to your cooking certainly couldn’t hurt if you’re looking to slash your Alzheimer’s odds.

You can even get both herbs in the form of tea to increase the amount you ingest. Given how strong the scent of rosemary tends to be, you would think the tea would be just as pungent. But I found it to be quite gentle on both my taste buds and my stomach. Look for it in the tea aisle at your local grocery store or online.

Sources:

Compound found in common herbs inspires potential anti-inflammatory drug for Alzheimer’s disease — Scripps Research

Ingredient hidden in your spice rack could reverse Alzheimer’s disease — Daily Mail

diAcCA, a Pro-Drug for Carnosic Acid That Activates the Nrf2 Transcriptional Pathway, Shows Efficacy in the 5xFAD Transgenic Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease — Antioxidants

Preventing or Slowing Down Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia — HelpGuide.org

What are the Causes and Risk Factors of Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias? — Alzheimer’s Association