Strawberries may reduce risk for Alzheimer’s disease: Study

ISLAMABAD

Adding strawberries to your cereal, salad or smoothie can likely help protect your brain from Alzheimer’s disease, suggests a study.

The researchers from RUSH University in the US found that a bioactive compound found in strawberries called pelargonidin may be associated with fewer neurofibrillary tau tangles in the brain.

Tau tangles are one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease which is caused by abnormal changes with tau proteins that accumulate in the brain, Medical Daily reported.

“We suspect the anti-inflammatory properties of pelargonidin may decrease overall neuroinflammation which may reduce cytokine production,” said Associate Professor and neuropathologist with the RUSH Alzheimer’s Disease Centre 1qastudy author Julie Schneider.

Cytokines are proteins produced by cells and they can regulate various inflammatory responses. Inflammation in the brain has been linked to Alzheimer’s pathology such as plaques and tangles. The data suggests that pelargonidin may protect the ageing brain from developing Alzheimer’s pathology. Among berries, strawberries are the most abundant source of pelargonidin.

The study was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. The team looked at data of a total of 575 deceased participants with complete dietary information during the follow-up and brain autopsies whose average age of death was 91.3 years.

“The study was an observational study and does not prove a direct causal relationship. Further research is needed to understand the role of nutrition in Alzheimer’s disease but this study gives us hope on how specific dietary components such as berries may help brain health,” said RADC nutritional epidemiologist and Assistant Professor of internal medicine at RUSH Puja Agarwal. APP