This California plant may hold promise for treating Alzheimer's

A potent neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory chemical in a native California shrub may lead to treatment for Alzheimer's disease, say, researchers. The plant called Yerba santa, dubbed as "holy herb" in Spanish by native California tribes, has long been used to treat respiratory ailments, fever and headaches as well as for wounds, sore muscles and rheumatism.

A team of scientists  identified from Yerba santa a molecule called sterubin, with a potent anti-inflammatory impact on brain cells known as microglia. It was also an effective iron remover -- potentially beneficial because iron can contribute to nerve cell damage in ageing and neurodegenerative diseases.

Overall, the compound was effective against multiple inducers of cell death in the nerve cells, said one of the researcher.

"This is a compound that was known but ignored," said the researcher. "Not only did sterubin turn out to be much more active than the other flavonoids in Yerba santa in our assays, it appears as good as, if not better than, other flavonoids we have studied," she added.

To identify natural compounds that might reverse neurological disease symptoms, she applied a screening technique used in drug discovery to a commercial library of 400 plant extracts with known pharmacological properties.

Sterubin was found as Yerba Santa's most active component. Next, the team plans to test sterubin in an animal model of Alzheimer's, then determine its drug-like characteristics and toxicity levels in animals and later in humans. 

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                    PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/                                                                                                                                                         FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                  https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/           

                                                                           FOR CROCHET DESIGNS                                                                                                                                                                                                  https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com