Leaf extract of Dendropanax morbifera a potential ingredient for memory-boosting functional foods

Researchers from South Korea examined the effects of Dendropanax morbifera Leveille (DML) on proliferating cells and differentiated neuroblasts exposed to mercury. Their findings were published in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

• The brain is susceptible to methylmercury toxicity, which causes irreversible damage to neurons and glial cells.
• DML is widely used as a folk medicine to treat skin problems and headaches. Research suggests it can also reduce neuronal damage.
• For their study, the researchers compared the effects of DML and galantamine treatment on rats exposed to dimethylmercury. They administered both treatments every day for 36 days.
• On the 34th day, they subjected the rats to novel object recognition tests one hour after treatment. They also used the Morris water maze test to measure the animals’ learning and memory abilities.
• The dimethylmercury-treated rats exhibited impaired memory and took longer than the control rats to find the platform during the Morris water maze test.
• On the other hand, DML or galantamine supplementation significantly improved the rats’ cognitive function. The rats spent less time looking for the platform.
• The researchers also found that dimethylmercury reduced the number of proliferating cells and differentiated neuroblasts in the dentate gyrus of the rats’ hippocampi.
• Supplementation with DML or galantamine, however, significantly increased the number of proliferating cells and differentiated neuroblasts in treated rats.

These findings suggest that DML can be used as a functional food to improve memory and mitigate the damage caused by dimethylmercury poisoning.

Read the full article at this link.

Journal reference:

Kim W, Yoo DY, Jung HY, Kim JW, Hahn KR, Kwon HJ, Yoo M, Lee S, Nam SM, Yoon YS, et al. LEAF EXTRACTS FROM DENDROPANAX MORBIFERA LEVEILLE MITIGATE MERCURY-INDUCED REDUCTION OF SPACIAL MEMORY, AS WELL AS THE CELL PROLIFERATION, AND NEUROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION IN RATE DENTATE GYRUS. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 02 May 2019;19(1). DOI: 10.1186/s12906-019-2508-6