Flavonoids found to 'limit neuroinflammation'

A plant compound present in celery and green peppers has been found to intercept an integral component of the inflammatory response in the brain, providing implications for anti-aging physicians and the treatment of diseases such as Alzheimer's.

The study conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, discovered that the plant flavonoid luteolin significantly diminishes inflammatory response in the brain.

Animal sciences professor and principal investigator Rodney Johnson said: "One of the questions we were interested in is whether something like luteolin, or other bioactive food components, can be used to mitigate age-associated inflammation and therefore improve cognitive function and avoid some of the cognitive deficits that occur in aging."

Previous studies have shown that inflammation is a key contributing factor in the development of many neurodegenerative diseases, associated with aging.

In response to the findings, professor Johnson concluded: "If you had the potential to decrease the production of inflammatory cytokines in the brain you could potentially limit the cognitive deficits that result."