HEALTH: Pomegranate juice shown to halt Alzheimer's disease progression (REMEDIES, RECIPES)

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Pomegranate juice shown to halt Alzheimer's disease progression

by: Jessica Fraser

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

 

(NewsTarget) A new animal study published in the journal Neurobiology of

Disease has found that dietary intake of antioxidant-rich pomegranate

juice may reduce the buildup of harmful proteins associated with

Alzheimer's disease by half.

 

Researchers from Loma Linda University in California believe that

Alzheimer's may be caused by the buildup of plaque from deposits

associated with brain cell death due to oxidation, called beta-amyloid

deposits. Pomegranate juice, which is high in antioxidant polyphenols,

may offer protection against the oxidative stress that causes

beta-amyloid deposits.

 

The researchers studied two groups of transgenic mice that had been

genetically engineered to express a protein that eventually leads to

Alzheimer's disease. The mice -- aged between six and 12.5 months --

were split into two groups: The first group's diet was supplemented with

plain water, and the second group's diet was supplemented with diluted

pomegranate juice concentrate. The concentrate was diluted to resemble

the strength of commercially sold pomegranate juices.

 

The researchers then tested the two groups' cognitive function by

subjecting the mice to a water maze, which required the animals to swim

various distances to find a submerged platform. The group given

pomegranate juice negotiated the maze 35 percent faster than the water

group, and also swam a more direct path to find the submerged platform

compared to the water group.

 

The researchers then examined the amount of beta-amyloid deposits in the

brain cortex of the mice, and found that the group supplemented with

pomegranate juice had 50 percent less of the deposits than the

non-supplemented mice.

 

" This study is the first to show beneficial effects (both behavioral and

neuropathological) of pomegranate juice in an animal model of

(Alzheimer's disease), " wrote lead researcher Richard Hartman.

 

Hartman and his research team wrote that because pomegranate juice is so

rich in biochemical compounds that may act synergistically to produce

Alzheimer's protection, " ...isolated components of pomegranate may not

be as effective as dietary supplementation with either the whole fruit

or its juice. "

 

Natural health proponent Mike Adams, author of " The Seven Laws of

Nutrition, " said pomegranate juice " ...is emerging as one of the most

astounding disease-preventing medicines from nature. Not only does it

protect against prostate cancer and urinary tract infections, now we're

also seeing how it protects the nervous system from degeneration. "

 

http://www.newstarget.com/020631.html

 

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