By Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS, December 13, 2004, abstracted from Lee, C. Y. (2004). "Protective Effects of Quercetin and Vitamin C against Oxidative Stress-Induced Neurodegeneration” in the December 15, 2004 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
There over 4.5 million people in the United States suffering from Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a number that has more than doubled since 1980. By 2050 the number of individuals with AD could range from 11.3 million to 16 million.1 According to the National Institute on Aging, national direct and indirect annual costs of caring for individuals with AD are at least $100 billion.2
While the exact cause of AD is yet to be determined, evidence suggesting the role of oxidative stress, particularly free radicals, in neurodegenerative disorders such as AD has been growing and is now recognized to play a key role.3
Now a new study out of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry4 suggests that quercetin, an antioxidant found in apples, may help prevent oxidative stress in the brain and, in turn, may help prevent AD.
In the study, researchers compared the protective effects of quercetin and vitamin C in cells to hydrogen peroxide, known to kill nerve cells. The researchers found that, although Hydrogen peroxide caused a significant decrease in cell function, supplementing the cells with either quercetin or vitamin C protected the cells against hydrogen peroxide toxicity. What’s more, quercetin and vitamin C protected the cells even more when increased amounts were used.
Compared to vitamin C, the researchers found that quercetin provided greater protection at lower concentrations but were equal at the highest concentrations. When discussing the implications of the study, previous research found that quercetin can cross the blood brain barrier (BBB) and enter brain regions,5 setting up a possible brain-protecting effect for quercetin. They concluded that “it is possible that quercetin with beneficial antioxidant and biological functions is able to penetrate the BBB and can protect the hydrogen peroxide-induced cytotoxicity.”
In short, an apple a day may indeed keep Alzheimer’s Disease away.
Reference:
1 Hebert, LE; Scherr, PA; Bienias, JL; Bennett, DA; Evans, DA. “Alzheimer Disease in the U.S. Population: Prevalence Estimates Using the 2000 Census.” Archives of Neurology August 2003; 60 (8): 1119 – 1122
2 Ernst, RL; Hay, JW. “The U.S. Economic and Social Costs of Alzheimer’s Disease Revisited.” American Journal of Public Health 1994; 84(8): 1261 – 1264
3 Floyd, R. A. Antioxidants, oxidative stress, and degenerative neurological disorders. Exp. Biol. Med. 1999, 222, 236-245
4 Lee, C. Y. (2004). "Protective Effects of Quercetin and Vitamin C against Oxidative Stress-Induced Neurodegeneration." Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 52: 7514-7517
5 Yodium, K. A.; Zeeshan Qaiser, M.; Begley, D. J.; Rice-Evans, C. A.; Abbott, N. J. Flavonoid permeability across an in situ model of the blood-brain barrier. Free Radical Biol. Med. 2004, 5, 592-604
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