According to study findings from RUSH University in the US, pelargonidin, a bioactive component present in strawberries, may be linked to fewer neurofibrillary tau tangles in the brain.
One of the distinguishing features of Alzheimer's disease, which is brought on by aberrant alterations in tau proteins that build up in the brain, is tau tangles, according to Medical Daily.
"We anticipate the anti-inflammatory characteristics of pelargonidin may decrease overall neuroinflammation, which may diminish cytokine production," said Julie Schneider, associate professor and neuropathologist with the RUSH Alzheimer's Disease Centre, and lead author of the study.
Cells create a class of proteins called cytokines that have the ability to control different inflammatory reactions. Alzheimer's pathology, including plaques and tangles, has been associated with inflammation in the brain. According to the research, pelargonidin may prevent Alzheimer's disease from emerging in the aging brain.
Strawberries have the highest concentration of pelargonidin among berries.
"While pelargonidin should be further investigated for their significance in sustaining brain health in older persons, this gives a simple alteration that anybody can do in their diet," said RADC nutritional epidemiologist Puja Agarwal, Assistant Professor of internal medicine at RUSH.
The report was released in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
The researchers examined data from a total of 575 decedents, whose average ages were 91.3 and who had comprehensive food records during follow-up and brain autopsy.
The biggest genetic risk factor gene for Alzheimer's disease, APOE 4, was found in 120 individuals and was not present in 452 non-carriers.
The APOE 4 gene is linked to Alzheimer's disease, and while we did not detect the same effect among persons carrying the gene, this may have been because of the smaller sample size of those carrying the gene in this study, according to Agarwal.
"The study was an observational one, thus it cannot establish a clear causal link. We still need more studies to fully understand the role of nutrition in Alzheimer's disease, but this discovery provides us some optimism about how some dietary elements, like berries, may support brain health."
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