Efforts to discover a breakthrough drug for dementia may attract attention these days, but traditional medicines can offer tips for preventative medicine.
A research group led by specially appointed Professor Takami Tomiyama of Osaka Metropolitan University’s Graduate School of Medicine has found that administering the dried seeds of a species called jujube Ziziphus jujuba Miller var. spinosaused as a medicinal herb in traditional Chinese medicine, shows promise in restoring cognitive and motor function in model mice.
By administering hot water extracts of Semen of Zizyphi spinosi Modeling mice with Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies, the team found that cognitive and motor functions were restored.
Furthermore, when the seeds were simply ground into powder and administered to the model mice, the team found that the model mice’s cognitive function recovered to levels above that of control mice. Furthermore, the powders apparently suppressed cellular aging in older mice and improved their cognitive function to a similar level as younger mice.
Previously, members of the research team separately reported that the pathology of dementia in model mice improved as cognitive and motor functions recovered after using the Hawaiian herb mamaki and the Chinese herb. Acorus gramineus.
The results of our research will hopefully make it possible to develop dementia prevention products that middle-aged and elderly people can use at their own discretion.”
Takami Tomiyama, Professor, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University
The findings are currently available as a graded preprint in eLife.
Source:
Magazine reference:
Umeda, T., et al. (2024) Simply ground Zizyphi spinosi sperm prevents neurodegenerative diseases and reverses age-related cognitive decline in mice. doi.org/10.7554/elife.100737.1.