Image: Stem Cell Reseach & Therapy
A research currently performed at the Institute for Neuroscience and Medicine in Jülich in collaboration with the University Hospital and the Max Planck Institute in Cologne, all in Germany, suggests that a compound found in turmeric extract (aromatic turmerone) could encourage brain stem cells growth and development.
The research is still at early stages , so it is unknown if this apparent increase in steam cells would have an effect on repairing brain damage caused by neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. However, researchers hope their findings may contribute for new treatments.
Turmeric (Curcua longa) is a plant of the ginger family, native in southeast India and commonly used as spice in Indian cuisine and curries. Furthermore, it is commonly used in Indian native medicine for several diseases. Its active compound is called curcumin, which is believed to have a range of medical effects including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antiviral and antibacterial properties; indicating a potential use in clinical medicine.
For the study, researchers directly injected different concentrations of turmeric extracts in to the brain of live rats (in vivo); and they used a radioactive tracer to detect and positron emission tomography to detect cellular activity. They also cultivated neural stem cells (NSCs) from brains of rat fetuses in lab dishes in six different turmeric extract environments (in vitro).
In this way researchers were able to observe and compare the effects of turmeric extract on NSCs both in vivo and in vitro. The researchers found that the compound increased NSCs proliferation and differentiation in the sub-ventricular zone (SVZ) and hippocampus of adult rats. Also the study showed that these brain structures (responsible for the growth of brain cells) became more active after application of the compound.
Dr Maria Adele Rueger, who was part of the research team, explained that further studies are necessary to relate turmeric extract with a possible treatment for neurodegenerative diseases “as we haven’t done any study with humans”.
She also added that “While several substances have been described to promote stem cell proliferation in the brain, fewer drugs additionally promote the differentiation of stem cells into neurons, which constitutes a major goal in regenerative medicine. Our findings on aromatic turmerone take us one step closer to achieving this goal.”
According to statistics from the Journal of Biological Chemistry, India is the country where curry is more used as an ingredient to flavor foods, and also it has four times less Alzheimer’s patients compared to countries like the United States. While this may be an indicator of turmeric extract’s healing properties, statistical facts may lead to wrong conclusions; as this is not the only difference among both populations, and the Alzheimer’s occurrence differences may be related to other facts such as lifestyles or genetics.
The study was published in the peer-reviewed Stem Cell Research and Therapy on an open access basis, so it is free to read online.
Through: Stem Cell Research & Therapy, Infosalus, SciDevNet
