Cherry juice increases cognitive function

[NHE]

Should You Drink Cherry Juice for Your Brain?

According to a study, older people who drink cherry juice score better on tests of cognitive function after three months.

https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/article ... our-brain/

Tart cherry juice has a reputation for fighting inflammation. Readers of our syndicated newspaper column have been singing the praises of tart cherries for decades. They have been using this sour fruit to treat gout attacks, ease arthritis pain and lower blood pressure, There is growing evidence that if you drink cherry juice it may also be good for your brain.

A Placebo-Controlled Trial:

Tart cherries are rich in polyphenol compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. To find out if they might have cognitive benefits, scientists recruited 50 healthy middle-aged volunteers.

These individuals went through a comprehensive computerized battery of cognitive tests before the investigators assigned them to consume 30 ml of Montmorency cherry concentrate or a look-alike placebo twice daily for three months (British Journal of Nutrition, Feb. 3, 2020). They took tests designed to examine the same cognitive capabilities at the close of the study.

The researchers found that those taking the cherry concentrate were better able to sustain their attention. Here is what the researchers found in their own words:

“The main finding of this study was that tart cherries have a positive impact on cognitive performance and perceptions of fatigue and alertness and upregulate plasma amino acids, with no influence on CBF [cerebral blood flow], sleep or health. In the current study MC [Montmorency cherries] improved sustained attention measured by DV [digit vigilance]. Both sweet and tart cherries have been shown to improve aspects of cognitive function following 12-week supplementation in older adults, including sustained attention, however it is currently unknown whether this is a result of improved CBF or due to the potential neuroprotective properties of tart cherry anthocyanins.”

The conclusions:

“These data provide new information that bioactive foods that are rich in anthocyanins and other (poly)phenolic compounds, can have an anti-fatiguing effect during periods of high cognitive demand, which are beneficial in daily tasks requiring vigilance.”

[Petr75]

2021 Mar 13
Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Daegu Haany University, Korea
Tart Cherry Extract Containing Chlorogenic Acid, Quercetin, and Kaempferol Inhibits the Mitochondrial Apoptotic Cell Death Elicited by Airborne PM 10 in Human Epidermal Keratinocytes
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33805724/

Abstract

Tart cherry (Prunus cerasus L.), a medicinal food containing high concentrations of phytochemicals, has a variety of antioxidant activities and health benefits. Here, we investigate the functional effect of tart cherry during apoptotic cell death elicited by airborne particulate matter with a diameter of <10 μm (PM10) in human epidermal keratinocyte HaCaT cells. The PM10 particles significantly induced cytotoxicity in the HaCaT cells. The decrease in cell viability was restored upon treatment with tart cherry extract (200 μg/mL) containing chlorogenic acid, quercetin, and kaempferol. Tart cherry inhibited the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) responsible for the distinctive activations of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in PM10-treated HaCaT cells. Interestingly, tart cherry significantly inhibited the expression of apoptosis-related genes (B-Cell Lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2 associated X protein (Bax), and caspase-3) as regulated by the activation of transcription factor nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB). These results demonstrate that tart cherry is a medicinal food that blocks the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis induced by PM10 in human epidermal keratinocytes.