According to a new study, a molecule present in basil would have virtues against Alzheimer’s disease. In France, 225,000 people are diagnosed with this cognitive disorder each year.
This is good news. According to a study published in the American journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, a compound of plant origin called fenchol could be effective against the development of Alzheimer’s disease. How is it possible ? According to researchers at the University of Florida (United States), fenchol may be involved in the mechanism that connects the intestine to the brain. Indeed, our intestine is made up of what is called the microbiota, that is to say all the microorganisms that evolve along our digestive system. It constitutes billions of bacteria which act on our health. In recent years, scientists have been looking more and more at this microbiota which, in addition to helping digestion, stimulates the immune system. It turns out that it would also be involved in the onset of neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s.
So what is the role of basil in all of this? “Our study is the first to discover that stimulation of the FFAR2 detection mechanism by these microbial metabolites may be beneficial in protecting brain cells against the toxic accumulation of beta-amyloid (Aβ) protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease.“, explains the professor of neurosurgery and Brain Repair at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, Hariom Yadav at Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. Fenchol would thus be one of the natural compounds which would activate the FFAR2 receptor the best, carried by the neurons of the intestine, which protects against the protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease. It should be noted that it is also present in mustard and grapes. While fenchol isn’t a miracle cure, it could help prevent disease and protect the brain from developing.
An animal study
Be careful, however, swallowing basil in large quantities will not cure Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, the results of this study are promising but should be taken with a grain of salt. The experiments were performed on mice and worms with Alzheimer’s disease. If they show that diet has a role to play in our cognitive health, further research in humans is needed to confirm these results. In France, a person is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease every three minutes.