New York : A novel chocolate made of dietary cocoa extract can promote brain health and prevent age-related neuro-degenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s in the elderly, scientists have determined, reports IANS.
There is strong scientific evidence supporting the growing interest in developing cocoa extract, and potentially certain dietary chocolate preparations, as a natural source to maintain and promote brain health, the researchers wrote.
This noval chocolate can “prevent age-related neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease which is the most common form of age-related dementia affecting an estimated 44 million people worldwide,” said Dr Giulio Maria Pasinetti, professor of neurology from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.
Cocoa extracts contain polyphenols – micronutrients that have many health benefits, including reducing age-related cognitive dysfunction and promoting healthy brain ageing. Previous studies from Dr Pasinetti’s laboratory suggest that certain cocoa extract preparations may prevent or possibly delay Alzheimer’s disease in animal experimental models of the disease.
Most importantly, the role of cocoa polyphenols in preventing abnormal accumulation of toxic protein aggregates in the brain would play a pivotal role in preventing the loss of synapses that are critical for functional connection among neurons.
