Sep 27, 2014 05:34 PM EDT By J Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

A spice commonly found in curry powder could boost brain power and help ward off dementia, according to a recent study.

Researchers from the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine in Germany found that aromatic turmerone, one of the two major bioactive compounds found in turmeric, can help the brain regenerate neurons and repair itself, UPI reported. The findings suggest aromatic tumerone could be a future drug candidate for treating neurological disorders, such as stroke and Alzheimer's disease.

"While several substances have been described to promote stem cell proliferation in the brain, fewer drugs additionally promote the differentiation of stem cells into neurons, which constitutes a major goal in regenerative medicine," Adele Rueger, lead author of the study, said in a statement. "Our findings on aromatic turmerone take us one step closer to achieving this goal."

For the study, researchers studied the effects studied aromatic turmerone on neutral stem cell (NSC) proliferation and differentiation both in vitro and in vivo. Rat fetal NSC were cultured and grown in six different concentrations of aromatic turmerone over a 72 hour period. At certain concentrations, aromatic turmerone was shown to increase NSC proliferation by up to 80 percent, without having any impact on cell death. The cell differentiation process also accelerated in aromatic turmerone-treated cells compared to untreated control cells.

To test the effects of aromatic turmerone on NSC in vivo, the researchers injected adult rats with aromatic turmerone.

Using PET imaging and a tracer to detect proliferating cells, they found that the subventricular zone (SVZ) was wider, and the hippocampus expanded, in the brains of rats injected with ar-turmerone than in control animals. The SVZ and hippocampus are the two sites in adult mammalian brains where neurogenesis, the growth of neurons, is known to occur.

The findings were published in the open access journal Stem Cell Research & Therapy.

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