The health benefits of pomegranate aren't exactly news. Apart from inhibiting cancer growth, pomegranate also keeps the heart healthy. Now a new study found that pomegranate is also beneficial to the brain.
The study reveals that the anti-inflammatory properties of pomegranate may decrease the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease! Researchers added that drinking pomegranate juice will keep the brain younger and healthier.
Over the last several years, scientists have established that inflammation plays a key role in the development of these debilitating diseases. Now, a new study from the University of Huddersfield in the UK has shown that the compound punicalagin, a potent polyphenol present in pomegranates, significantly inhibits the inflammation of a type of glial cell — known as microglia — which are found throughout the brain.
Chris Weller writes in Medical Daily:
“Dr. Olumayokun Olajide, a University researcher interested in the anti-inflammatory properties of natural products, led the research. He and his team ran tests of punicalagin on the cultured brain cells of rats. They looked at the interplay between the compound and any traces of inflammation found in the microglia. Parkinson’s disease, and to a lesser extent Alzheimer’s, relies on compounding inflammatory damage to destroy cells in a cascade.”
Image courtesy of: James Adaickalasamy
