This finding was previously confirmed not
just by testing quercetin by itself, but by
using apples as a whole food. Published in
the May 2006 issue of Experimental
Biology and Medicine, researcher Eric
Gershwin, M.D., with the University of
California, Davis Health System, discovered
a way in which flavonoid-rich apples and
apple juice protect cells from damage.
Gershwin exposed human cells to an extract
of apple mash made from different apple
varieties, similar to outcomes presented
today at the Society of Neuroscience
meeting.
The UC Davis researchers then challenged
these cells by exposing them to tumor
necrosis factor (TNF), a protein-like
compound found in the body that usually
triggers cell death and promotes
inflammation via a mechanism called the
“nuclear factor kappa B pathway” (this
pathway involves chemical signaling between
cells).
The UC Davis research revealed that apple
extract protected the cells from the
normally lethal effects of TNF by
interfering with this pathway that would
otherwise damage or kill cells in the body.
Gershwin noted that the method by which
apple extract protects cells is different
than that reported for other flavonoid-rich
foods.
Other more recent research demonstrated how
apples and apple juice can help boost
neurological health, specifically in the
brain.
The latest study from the University of
Massachusetts Lowell (UML), published in the
August 2006 Journal of Alzheimer’s
Disease, indicates that apple juice
consumption may actually increase the
production in the brain of the essential
neurotransmitter acetylcholine, resulting in
improved memory among mice who have
Alzheimer’s-like symptoms.
Neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine are
chemicals released from nerve cells that
transmit messages to other nerve cells.
Such communication between nerve cells is
vital for overall good health, not just in
the brain.
In addition to finding the improved levels
of acetylcholine in their brains, “it was
surprising how the animals on the
apple-enhanced diets actually did a superior
job on the maze tests than those not on the
apple-supplemented diet,” remarks Dr. Thomas
Shea, who led the research.
Shea, who is the director of the UML Center
for Cellular Neurobiology and
Neurodegeneration, published yet another
study in the December 2005 Journal of
Alzheimer’s Disease in which older mice (not
mice with Alzheimer’s like conditions)
performed significantly better on memory
tests than did animals whose diet was not
enriched with apple products.
Both of these studies, along with similar
study published by Shea in the February 2004
issue of Journal of Nutrition, Health
and Aging strongly suggests that apples must
possess a unique mix of antioxidants that
improve cognition and memory via inhibition
of oxidation in the brain.
Both the UC Davis and UML studies were funded by unrestricted
grants provided by the U.S. Apple
Association and Apple Products Research and
Education Council.