This California Plant May Hold Promise for Treating Alzheimer's

A study from Salk Institute scientists published in Redox Biology suggests a chemical in a native California shrub may lead to treatment for Alzheimer's, reports Times Now News . They identified within the Yerba santa plant a molecule called sterubin, which has a potent anti-inflammatory effect on microglia. The molecule also helps clear iron, which can contribute to nerve cell damage in aging and neurodegenerative disorders. Generally, the compound effectively inhibited multiple inducers of cell death in the nerve cells. "This is a compound that was known, but ignored," said Salk's Pamela Maher. "Not only did sterubin turn out to be much more active than the other flavonoids in Yerba santa in our assays, it appears as good as, if not better than, other flavonoids we have studied." The team is planning to test sterubin in an animal model of Alzheimer's, then assess its drug-like characteristics and toxicity levels in animals and later in humans.