It’s a sweet new health discovery: Maple syrup could cure Alzheimer’s disease.
The delicious pancake topping may soon find its way into granny’s pill bottle because it stops brain cell damage that causes the disease, scientists revealed Monday.
The tasty treat may prevent the clumping and “misfolding” of brain cell proteins — which build up and cause plaques that trigger the devastating disease, researchers at the American Chemical Society said.
An extract of the sticky stuff stopped the dangerous “folding” in two types of brain proteins, researchers from the Krembil Research Institute of the University of Toronto said.
“Natural food products such as green tea, red wine, berries, curcumin and pomegranates continue to be studied for their potential benefits in combating Alzheimer’s disease,” said symposium director Dr. Navindra Seeram.
“And now, in preliminary laboratory-based Alzheimer’s disease studies, phenolic-enriched extracts of maple syrup from Canada showed neuroprotective effects, similar to resveratrol, a compound found in red wine,” she said.
Researchers plan to study whether a maple syrup extract can be effective as a cure for degenerative brain disease.
The syrup protects two brain proteins — beta amyloid and tau peptide, researchers said.
Researchers from the American Chemical Society discussed the discovery at an anual symposium, which is being held March 13-17 in San Diego.
Dr. Donald Weaver of the Krembil Research Institute revealed the discovery.