A new study from researchers at Rush University Medical Center indicates that strawberries, specifically a bioactive compound found in them called pelargonidin, might help protect the brain from Alzheimer’s disease.
The researchers found that pelargonidin might be associated with fewer neurofibrillary tau tangles in the brain – one of the characteristic markers of Alzheimer’s disease.
This disease is associated with abnormal changes in tau proteins that accumulate in the brain.
The Role of Pelargonidin in Brain Health
The study’s authors suspect that the anti-inflammatory properties of pelargonidin may decrease overall neuroinflammation in the brain, which in turn may reduce cytokine production.
Cytokines are proteins produced by cells that regulate various inflammatory responses.
Since inflammation in the brain has been linked to Alzheimer’s pathology, the data suggests that pelargonidin may help protect the aging brain from developing Alzheimer’s disease pathology.
Strawberries: A Natural Source of Pelargonidin
Among all berries, strawberries are the most abundant source of pelargonidin.
“While pelagonidin should be examined further for their role in maintaining brain health in older adults, this gives a simple change that anyone can make in their diet,” says Puja Agarwal, Ph.D., one of the authors of the study and a nutritional epidemiologist at the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center.
The Study Details
The researchers analyzed data acquired from the ongoing Rush Memory and Aging Project (MAP), which started in 1997.
The study looked at a total of 575 deceased participants, averaging 91.3 years of age at death, who had complete dietary information and brain autopsies.
Participants were assessed for up to nearly 20 years prior to death using a food frequency questionnaire and a standardized neuropathological evaluation after death.
They also underwent annual standardized cognitive ability tests in five areas: episodic memory, working memory, semantic memory, visuospatial ability, and perceptual speed.
Notably, the associations were more robust among those without dementia or mild cognitive impairment at the beginning of the study.
However, the researchers did not observe the same effect in people with the APOE 4 gene, which is associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
This discrepancy may be due to the smaller sample size of individuals with the gene in the study.
Although this was an observational study and does not prove a direct causal relationship, the findings offer promising insight into how specific dietary components such as berries may help support brain health.
Further research is needed to fully understand the role of nutrition in Alzheimer’s disease.
If you care about health, please read studies about the primary cause of Alzheimer’s and the best time to take high blood pressure drugs.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about new hidden causes of dementia, and results showing diabetes drug metformin may slow down cognitive decline.
The study was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
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