Memory loss is a key feature of Alzheimer’s disease , which affects many millions of people around the world. Now, a team of researchers from the College of Food Science and Engineering at Northwest A&F University (China) conclude that a compound called chicoric acid, present in endive, lettuce or basil, may be effective in reducing memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s.
Mice treated with chicoric acid showed better memory in behavioral tests than rodents that did not receive the compound. According to experts, chicoric acid may help maintain memory in patients with Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative conditions.
Previous studies have shown that chicoric acid has antioxidant properties , which means that it can reduce or even prevent some types of cell damage caused by oxidative stress. To find out if it could protect against memory impairment, the scientists used three groups of mice. One of them was treated with lipopolysaccharides (LPS), another with LPS and chicoric acid, and the third represented the control group.
The memory and learning abilities of all groups were tested using two maze-like behavioral tests : one assesses the rodents’ willingness to explore new surroundings and another tests their ability to remember and move around their environment.
The researchers found that mice treated with LPS took longer to complete the mazes than mice treated with LPS and chicoric acid , suggesting that chicoric acid may reduce LPS-induced memory impairment.
The study also revealed that chicoric acid decreased the accumulation of beta-amyloid proteins induced by LPS treatment (considered precursors of Alzheimer’s).
According to the researchers, these results suggest that chicoric acid could be a “plausible therapeutic intervention for diseases related to neuroinflammation, such as Alzheimer’s disease.”
The study has been published in The FASEB Journal.
