Eating Herbs Can Improve Brain Function, Study Says

Including some herbs in one's meal can help improve brain function, a new study published at the Advances in Regenerative Biology suggests.

According to the report by Medical News Today (MNT), a substance called apigenin, which is found in herbs such as parsley, thyme, chamomile and red pepper, improves neuron formation while also strengthening brain cell connections.

Additionally, the research suggests that apigenin shows a big potential to develop treatment for neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and even Schizophrenia.

In order to arrive at this conclusion, the researchers, led by Stevens Rehen of the D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR) and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), applied apigenin to human stem cells in a laboratory dish.

Stem cells are remarkable cells that have the potential to develop into several varying cell types in the body.

In the researchers' experiment, they found that after 25 days, the Stem cells applied with apigenin transformed into neurons- an occurrence that has not been observed to stem cells that are not applied with the said substance.

Besides observing the cells transformation to neurons, the researchers also found that synapses, or the connections between neurons to which information flows from one neuron to another, became stronger and "more sophisticated."

"Strong connections between neurons are crucial for good brain function, memory consolidation and learning," Rehen told Eureka Alert.

On the other hand, according to the Eureka Alert report, the research found that apigenin binds and improves the connection of estrogen receptors which affect the overall development of the nervous system.

Hence, the researchers believe that apigenin could be used as an alternative treatment for neurodegenerative conditions.

"We show a new path for new studies with this substance. Moreover, flavonoids are present at high amounts in some foods and we can speculate that a diet rich in flavonoids may influence the formation of neurons and the way they communicate within the brain," Rehen added.

According to the report by McGovern institute, brain disorders are the leading contributor to "global disease burden." It cited that, in 2012, Alzheimer's disease affects 5.4 million people in the U.S. and it projects that around 11 million people will suffer from the disorder by 2050.

On the other hand, the National Institute of Mental Health pointed that one percent of Americans are affected by Schizophrenia, while the Parkinson 's Disease Foundation highlighted that about 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with the Parkinson's disease each year with an estimated 10 million people around the world suffering from it.