Can Curry, Wine and Apple Skins Offer a Cure?As evidence for the role of type-2 alkenes in neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease has grown, Dr. LoPachin and his colleague, Dr. Terrence Gavin, in the Department of Chemistry at Iona College, have discovered a possible antidote that is derived from chemical compounds found in curry spice (curcumin), wine (resveratrol) and apple skins (phloretin). Their research, recently reported in a Journal of Neurochemistry article ( Title: -Dicarbonyl Enolates: A New Class of Neuroprotectants), showed that a compound called 2-ACP completely protected nerve cells in culture from acrolein-induced damage by latching onto this type-2 alkene and neutralizing its toxic effects. 2-ACP could, therefore, be a treatment for neurological conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Drs. LoPachin and Gavin believe that 2-ACP treatment would be safe and effective in humans, because it is derived from non-toxic natural products that already have clinically demonstrated neuroprotective properties.

Dr. LoPachin says that although the 2-ACP studies are quite advanced in the world of molecular biology, they nonetheless will need to be confirmed in animal studies.

SOURCE Montefiore Medical Center