Flavanol-lemon and black chokeberry juice could potentially help in treating neurodegenerative diseases as a nutritive and health-promoting product.
According to Spanish researchers, the most important neurotransmitter system for regulating cognitive functions such as memory and learning.
The research team said that cholinergic neuronal loss in the brain was a major feature of Alzheimer’s disease, senile dementia, ataxia, neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis and Parkinson’s disease.
However, medicinal drugs that are used to treat cholinesterases – the latter are enzymes acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) – and heal these diseases had side effects such as gastrointestinal disturbances, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea as well as bioavailability problems.
Amadeo Girones-Vilaplana said: “Because of this, researchers are seeking natural AChE and BuChE inhibitors with a better safety profile”.
The team explained that lemons – being a rich nutrient and phytochemical source in flavonoids, citric acid, vitamin C and minerals – gave an interesting design matrix for new beverages.
They said that the fruit was a reasonable source of value-added products since overproduction and non-marketable fruits meant that crops currently caused agrowaste problems.
Black chokeberry is an astringent berry, derived from a shrub native in America and is a rich source of phenolic antioxidants, quercetin derivatives and hydroxycinnamic acids and vitamin C.
Past studies have revealed that black chokeberries are linked to anti-proliferative effects against cancer cells and has also suggested anti-mutagenic, hepato-protective (the ability to prevent liver damage) cardio-protective and anti-diabetic effects.
The black chokeberry concentrate was added to fresh lemon juice at 5% w/v (g/ml) and characterised its functional activity and phytochemical profile.
The researchers used in vitro enzyme studies and screened the juice for substance activity against the two cholinesterases and discovered that the blend (5% black chokeberry concentrate in lemon juice blend measured against controls: lemon juice alone, and 5% chokeberry in citric acid) had the strongest effects against both.
The team added that flavanols in both lemons and black chokeberries – and C-glycosol flavones in lemons may have led to the results.
Girones-Vilaplana said: “This effect was considerably lower than that of the pharmacological drugs used to treat neurological drugs used to treat neurological diseases, such as galantamine. However, this new blend represents a natural alternative, which can be taken every day, without side effects.
“Our results are very promising, because until now cholinesterase inhibitory activity of lemon juice or black chokeberry has not been reported, as far as know”.
More metabolic and biological studies were important and vital as well as the research for more sources of bioactive phytochemicals possessing these characteristics.
