In a new study, researchers found that a protein fragment that makes its way into the brain after being ingested can reduce memory impairment in mice with Alzheimer’s disease.
Derived by breaking apart the proteins in soybeans, the memory-effecting molecule is classified as a dipeptide because it contains just two of the protein building blocks known as amino acids.
The research was conducted by a team from Kyushu University in Japan.
The dipeptide used in this study, called Tyr-Pro, is currently the only one known to make the trip from a mouse’s stomach to its brain intact.
The team’s previous studies were the first to identify a dipeptide able to make the journey, this new study shows that it can actually affect memory in mice.
They examined the effects of the dipeptide by feeding it to mice for several days before and after injecting them with a chemical that simulates Alzheimer’s disease by impairing memory functions.
In tests to evaluate short-term memory by comparing a mouse’s tendency to explore different arms of a simple maze, impaired mice that had ingested the dipeptide over the past two weeks fared better than those that had not.
The same trend was also found in long-term memory tests.
Though there have been other reports suggesting some peptides can reduce the decline of brain function, this is the first case in which evidence also exists that the peptide can enter the brain intact.
The researchers still need studies to see if these benefits carry over to humans.
But they hope that this is a step toward functional foods that could prevent memory degradation or even improve memory.
One author of the study is Toshiro Matsui, a professor in the Faculty of Agriculture at Kyushu University.
The study is published in npj Science of Food.
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