Berries as brain insurance
More Canadians are affected by brain injuries than Multiple Sclerosis, Spinal Cord Injury, HIV/AIDS and Breast Cancer combined, according to the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation.
But the answer to combating traumatic brain injury (TBI) – caused by a direct blow to the head (for example, a car accident, assault, fall, or sports injury) – may lie not in treatment, but prevention.
After 20 years of research in TBI, Dr. John Weber (School of Pharmacy) became interested in the potential protective benefits of extracts from the fruits and leaves of blueberries, bilberries and lingonberries.
He recently spoke about his work at the Canadian Nutrition Society’s annual meeting, held last week in St. John’s.
“The effects nutrition could have on the brain are related to a natural process involving the production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), which can cause damage and eventual death of brain cells. The brain normally contains enough natural antioxidant compounds to fight this process, but after a TBI or during a stroke, an overproduction of ROS can lead to rapid brain damage,” he explains.
Dr. Weber’s hope is that consuming adequate amounts of antioxidant-rich berries may be like purchasing extra home insurance – you are receiving extra protection in case an accident should occur.
He has also started to investigate the role berry extracts could play in various types of disorders, for example, stroke or diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s.
“Glutamate is a normal neurotransmitter that is released in the brain, but excessive release (which can occur after a TBI or stroke), can damage or kill brain cells, and can also contribute to diseases like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. When we added various berry extracts to cultured brain cells, we found that the cell damage was dramatically reduced and in fact, the extracts were so protective that I couldn’t believe the findings until I repeated the experiment several times.”
The research team found similar results from a specific compound known as oxyreseveratol, which is derived from mulberry wood. They also observed that the overall antioxidant capacity appears to be much greater in the leaves of blueberries and lingonberries, compared to the actual fruits.
So should we be putting large quantities of berry leaves and mulberry wood into our smoothies every morning?
Unfortunately, Dr. Weber hasn’t determined how many blueberries someone would need to eat every day in order to increase antioxidant levels in the brain.
“Realistically, I don’t think a high dietary intake of berries would protect the brain from a severe injury, mainly because the mechanical damage is so great that antioxidants on their own aren’t enough to save cells,” he says.
“However, I do think that if someone experienced a mild trauma like a concussion, that having more antioxidant chemicals from berries in the brain could protect cells and help that person make a better recovery. So I think it’s quite possible that higher intake could slow down the process that cause these disorders.”