Fruits and vegetables are excellent for your health, especially five a day. We all know the song already. What we don’t know yet is that the list of benefits attributed to the fruit has grown again. In fact, according to a new study published in the journal Translational Medicine SciencesRegularly consuming farnesol, a compound found naturally in the fruit, should prevent and treat Parkinson’s disease.
Twice the number of healthy dopaminergic neurons
To conduct their studies scientists from the university Johns Hopkins Medicine He studied brain tissue from two groups of mice. The researchers gave the first group a diet supplemented with frenesol while the others followed a conventional diet. Then they activated the alpha-synuclein protein associated with the effects of Parkinson’s disease in their brains. As a result, the mice fed farnesol had twice as many healthy dopaminergic neurons as the others. It is precisely the loss of these neurons that affects movement and cognition, and leads to symptoms characteristic of Parkinson’s disease. Further clinical trials should be conducted to determine dosage recommendations and confirm the efficacy of this compound.
Farnesol in fruits, herbs and berries
Farnesol is naturally found in fruits, especially in berries (currants, black currants, blueberries and blackberries). This compound is also present in essential oils such as those found in linden, orange, and acacia flowers. People with allergies beware, farnesol is a high-impact allergen.
Parkinson’s disease is a brain disease that affects about 150,000 people in France. Its effects vary a lot from one patient to another: stiffness, slowness of movements, tremor, problems with balance … and often extreme tiredness. If it can’t be cured, treatments can relieve symptoms. Obviously the fruits too!
Read also:
⋙ Parkinson’s disease: Do this activity for one hour each week to reduce symptoms
⋙ Parkinson’s Disease: 3 Ways to Improve Patients’ Quality of Life
⋙ Parkinson’s disease, is screening possible before symptoms appear?
