Daffodils may be key to fight Alzheimer's disease 🌻

Scientists said daffodils contain a chemical that could be key to fighting Alzheimer's disease.

Narcissus flowers produce large amounts of galantamine, which corrects the imbalance in the brain, which is believed to cause the degenerative condition.

Trials show that this brain health supplement relieves symptoms of Alzheimer's disease by slowing cognitive decline. But it takes 100 daffodils to produce enough galantamine to treat one dementia patient each year.

Agroceutical founder Kevin Stevens, 55, a former sheep farmer, discovered a variety of flowers - which grew in windy conditions that caused them to bloom later, and produced higher levels of galantamine. He wants to work with groups of upland farmers to grow fields of daffodils, and Stevens hopes to ramp up production to make 1,000 kg of nutritional supplements a year.

Stevens explained that Alzheimer's disease is responsible for an enzyme imbalance in the brain, which effectively allows plaques to kill nervous system cells. "Galantamine causes an opposite enzyme defect," he added.

The use of some onion plants to treat brain diseases dates back to ancient Greece. The original home of Narcissus goes back to Middle Asia and the Mediterranean Basin.

Source News : The health - Publication date: 22.04.2222