{"id":2495,"date":"2014-08-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-08-01T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vermont.salk.edu\/news-release\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\/"},"modified":"2023-12-11T12:40:19","modified_gmt":"2023-12-11T20:40:19","slug":"analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain","status":"publish","type":"disclosure","link":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/news-release\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\/","title":{"rendered":"Analysis of African plant reveals possible treatment for aging brain"},"content":{"rendered":"

LA JOLLA\u2014For hundreds of years, healers in S\u00e3o Tom\u00e9 e Pr\u00edncipe\u2014an island off the western coast of Africa\u2014have prescribed cata-manginga leaves and bark to their patients. These pickings from the Voacanga africana<\/em> tree are said to decrease inflammation and ease the symptoms of mental disorders.<\/p>\n

Now, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered that the power of the plant isn\u2019t just folklore: a compound isolated from Voacanga africana<\/em> protects cells from altered molecular pathways linked to Enfermedad de Alzheimer<\/a>, Parkinson\u2019s disease and the neurodegeneration that often follows a stroke.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat this provides us with is a source of potential new drug targets,\u201d says senior author Pamela Maher, a senior staff scientist in Salk\u2019s Laboratorio de Neurobiolog\u00eda Celular<\/a>. The results were published this week in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Antonio Currais, a research associate who works with Maher, was visiting family in his native Portugal when he crossed paths with Maria do C\u00e9u Madureira, an ethnopharmacology researcher at the University of Coimbra. For the past twenty years, Madureira has been surveying the use of herbal medicine on the island. Currais and Maher had recently developed a series of tests to screen compounds for their potential use in treating neurodegenerative disorders and Currais saw the perfect chance to put the assay to the test. He began a collaboration with Madureira\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

\n\"\"\n

Caption: S\u00e3o Tom\u00e9 e Pr\u00edncipe Sum Pontes and San Ver\u00f3nica healers collect the V. africana plant for their patients. In assays, the plant showed to be potent in reducing inflammation, oxidative stress and amyloid-beta peptides (typically associated with Alzheimer\u2019s disease).<\/p>\n

Haga clic aqu\u00ed<\/a> para obtener una imagen en alta resoluci\u00f3n.<\/p>\n

Image: Maria do C\u00e9u Madureira<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThere was already a lot of descriptive information of particular plants that have potential effects on the nervous system,\u201d Currais says. \u201cWe took that further to quantitatively document the real neuroprotective action of the compounds in these plants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Currais and Maher began studying seven different extracts collected from five species of plants in S\u00e3o Tom\u00e9 e Pr\u00edncipe. Three of the five had been reported by local healers to have effects on the nervous system and two were used as controls. The Salk research team put each sample through different assays\u2014all conducted in living human and mouse cells\u2014designed to test their potential impact against neurodegeneration.<\/p>\n

One assay tested the ability of the plant extracts to protect cells against oxidative stress, a byproduct of metabolism that can cause DNA damage and has been linked to age-related neurodegeneration. Another tested anti-inflammatory properties of the compounds. A third test measured whether the samples could block the build-up of beta-amyloid peptides in neurons, which has been linked to Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was surprised at how potent they were,\u201d says Maher. \u201cI thought maybe we\u2019d see a little bit of activity in some of the assays and then have to separate out individual components to see a more profound effect.\u201d But one sample in particular\u2014Voacanga africana<\/em>\u2014performed exceptionally on all assays, even in its most dilute form.<\/p>\n

When Currais and Maher isolated different components of the plant, they found that the anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects of the plant were mostly due to one molecule, called voacamine. The compound hasn\u2019t yet been tested in animal models but its performance in the assays suggests that it may have pharmaceutical potential for treating Alzheimer\u2019s, Parkinson\u2019s or stroke.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are still a lot of potential sources of drugs in plants that are native to countries around the world and most of them haven\u2019t been tested to any extent,\u201d says Maher. \u201cYou can\u2019t test everything, so the best way to approach plant research for drugs is to use the knowledge that\u2019s been around for thousands of years to help you pick and choose what to study with modern techniques. That way you\u2019re not just shooting in the dark.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maher, Currais and Madureira are planning more follow up studies on voacamaine and also hope to apply their assays to more plants of interest.<\/p>\n

Other researchers on the study were Chandramouli Chiruta and Marie Goujon-Svrzic of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies; Gustavo Costa, Tania Santos, Maria Teresa Batista, Jorge Paiva, and Maria do Ceu Madureira of the University of Coimbra<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Both the Portuguese and American researchers worked in full partnership with local institutions, traditional healers and communities in order to respectfully conduct research in the area of indigenous knowledge, assuring the intellectual property rights and the sharing of benefits that may arise as a result of the study of these local medicinal plants.<\/p>\n

Acerca del Instituto Salk de Estudios Biol\u00f3gicos:<\/strong>
\nThe Salk Institute for Biological Studies is one of the world’s preeminent basic research institutions, where internationally renowned faculty probes fundamental life science questions in a unique, collaborative and creative environment. Focused both on discovery and on mentoring future generations of researchers, Salk scientists make groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of cancer, aging, Alzheimer’s, diabetes and infectious diseases by studying neuroscience, genetics, cell and plant biology, and related disciplines.<\/p>\n

Faculty achievements have been recognized with numerous honors, including Nobel Prizes and memberships in the National Academy of Sciences. Founded in 1960 by polio vaccine pioneer Jonas Salk, MD, the Institute is an independent nonprofit organization and architectural landmark.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","faculty":[113,410],"disease-research":[127,146,124,162,125,452,462],"class_list":["post-2495","disclosure","type-disclosure","status-publish","hentry","faculty-dave-schubert","faculty-pamela-maher","disease-research-alzheimers-disease","disease-research-aging-and-regenerative-medicine","disease-research-neuroscience-and-neurological-disorders","disease-research-parkinsons-disease","disease-research-plant-biology","disease-research-plant-physiology","disease-research-stroke"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAnalysis of African plant reveals possible treatment for aging brain - Salk Institute for Biological Studies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/news-release\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Analysis of African plant reveals possible treatment for aging brain - Salk Institute for Biological Studies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LA JOLLA\u2014For hundreds of years, healers in S\u00e3o Tom\u00e9 e Pr\u00edncipe\u2014an island off the western coast of Africa\u2014have prescribed cata-manginga leaves and bark to their patients. These pickings from the Voacanga africana tree are said to decrease inflammation and ease the symptoms of mental disorders.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/news-release\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Salk Institute for Biological Studies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-12-11T20:40:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/salk-institute-preview-image.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"329\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\\\/\",\"name\":\"Analysis of African plant reveals possible treatment for aging brain - Salk Institute for Biological Studies\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/2040.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-08-01T07:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-11T20:40:19+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"es-MX\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es-MX\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/2040.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/2040.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Analysis of African plant reveals possible treatment for aging brain\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/\",\"name\":\"Salk Institute for Biological Studies\",\"description\":\"The Power of Science\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"es-MX\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Salk Institute for Biological Studies\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es-MX\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/salk_logo_696.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/salk_logo_696.jpg\",\"width\":696,\"height\":696,\"caption\":\"Salk Institute for Biological Studies\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Analysis of African plant reveals possible treatment for aging brain - Salk Institute for Biological Studies","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/news-release\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\/","og_locale":"es_MX","og_type":"article","og_title":"Analysis of African plant reveals possible treatment for aging brain - Salk Institute for Biological Studies","og_description":"LA JOLLA\u2014For hundreds of years, healers in S\u00e3o Tom\u00e9 e Pr\u00edncipe\u2014an island off the western coast of Africa\u2014have prescribed cata-manginga leaves and bark to their patients. These pickings from the Voacanga africana tree are said to decrease inflammation and ease the symptoms of mental disorders.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/news-release\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\/","og_site_name":"Salk Institute for Biological Studies","article_modified_time":"2023-12-11T20:40:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":628,"height":329,"url":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/salk-institute-preview-image.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\/","url":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\/","name":"Analysis of African plant reveals possible treatment for aging brain - Salk Institute for Biological Studies","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/2040.jpg","datePublished":"2014-08-01T07:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-12-11T20:40:19+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"es-MX","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es-MX","@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/2040.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/2040.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/analysis-of-african-plant-reveals-possible-treatment-for-aging-brain\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Analysis of African plant reveals possible treatment for aging brain"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/","name":"Instituto Salk de Estudios Biol\u00f3gicos","description":"The Power of Science","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"es-MX"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/#organization","name":"Instituto Salk de Estudios Biol\u00f3gicos","url":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es-MX","@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"http:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/salk_logo_696.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/salk_logo_696.jpg","width":696,"height":696,"caption":"Salk Institute for Biological Studies"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"ACF":{"paper_url":"http:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0378874114004942","journal_title":"Journal of Ethnopharmacology","paper_author_list":"Antonio Currais, Chandramouli Chiruta, Marie Goujon-Svrzic, and Pamela Maher of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies; Gustavo Costa, Tania Santos, Maria Teresa Batista, Jorge Paiva, and Maria do Ceu Madureira of the University of Coimbra","paper_title":"Screening and identification of neuroprotective compounds relevant to Alzheimer’s disease from medicinal plants of S. Tomé e Príncipe","subhead":"Salk scientists find that a plant used for centuries by healers of São Tomé e Príncipe holds lessons for modern medicine","home_photo":"2040.jpg","listing_photo":"2040.jpg","doi":"","legacy_boilerplate":[],"hide_boilerplate":[],"disable_date":false,"listing_excerpt":"","descriptive_blurb":"","has_journal_cover":false,"og_image_override":false,"gallery":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disclosure\/2495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disclosure"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/disclosure"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disclosure\/2495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44809,"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disclosure\/2495\/revisions\/44809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"faculty","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faculty?post=2495"},{"taxonomy":"disease-research","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disease-research?post=2495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}