Beer intake may cut Alzheimer's
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The research taps into beer's silicon content, and reports that moderate consumption cut the uptake in the digestive tract of aluminium, a neurotoxin and recently linked as a possible causal factor for Alzheimer's. The study, published in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, reports that "moderate beer consumption… could perhaps be taken into account as a component of the dietary habits of the population." The researchers from the University of Alcala in Madrid state however that "alcoholic beverage consumption needs to be kept within certain limits depending both on gender and on age and should never be promoted as a means of increasing certain nutrients, which can be obtained from other foodstuffs in the diet."
Mice were divided into four groups, with three groups receiving aluminium nitrate in their drinking water. The first of these groups also received 2.5 ml of commercial beer (5.5 per cent alcohol) per week, the second received a 2.5 ml solution of silicic acid per week, while the third group received no silicon supplement (positive control). The fourth group received aluminium-free drinking water (negative control).
After three months the researchers report that animals receiving the supplementary silicon, whether from beer or the silicic acid, had significantly lower blood aluminium levels, and higher faecal excretion of aluminium. The lower blood levels resulted in slower accumulation of aluminium in the tissue, including the brain, which could have benefits for the prevention of Alzheimer's, suggested the researchers.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and currently affects over 13 million people worldwide. The direct and indirect cost of Alzheimer care is over $100bn (€ 81bn) in the US alone. The direct cost of Alzheimer care in the UK was estimated at £15bn (€ 22bn). They also note that, despite the silicic acid supplement providing double the amount of silicon as found in beer, no significant differences in blood silicon levels were observed between the two supplemented groups. "Thanks to the potential interaction observed between aluminium and silicon in the digestive tract and lower concentrations of aluminium in the blood and brain tissue, it appears that silicon in the form of silicic acid may lower the bioavailability of aluminium, and hence silicon should be regarded as a factor that may afford protection against aluminium, reducing therefore, one of the risk factor for Alzheimer's disease," wrote the researchers. "These result are in agree with the epidemiology study achieved by Gillette-Guyonnet et al. (2005), who conclude that silica in drinking water may reduce the risk of development Alzheimer's disease in elderly women."
Previously, the potential health benefits of beer have focussed on the flavonoid xanthohumol found in hops. Research has suggested that the compound could help prevent prostate cancer, but the scientists suggest supplements rather than beer for exploiting the potential benefits.
.
Alzheimer's Donation
Donate Online Now
.
The research taps into beer's silicon content, and reports that moderate consumption cut the uptake in the digestive tract of aluminium, a neurotoxin and recently linked as a possible causal factor for Alzheimer's. The study, published in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, reports that "moderate beer consumption… could perhaps be taken into account as a component of the dietary habits of the population." The researchers from the University of Alcala in Madrid state however that "alcoholic beverage consumption needs to be kept within certain limits depending both on gender and on age and should never be promoted as a means of increasing certain nutrients, which can be obtained from other foodstuffs in the diet."
Mice were divided into four groups, with three groups receiving aluminium nitrate in their drinking water. The first of these groups also received 2.5 ml of commercial beer (5.5 per cent alcohol) per week, the second received a 2.5 ml solution of silicic acid per week, while the third group received no silicon supplement (positive control). The fourth group received aluminium-free drinking water (negative control).
After three months the researchers report that animals receiving the supplementary silicon, whether from beer or the silicic acid, had significantly lower blood aluminium levels, and higher faecal excretion of aluminium. The lower blood levels resulted in slower accumulation of aluminium in the tissue, including the brain, which could have benefits for the prevention of Alzheimer's, suggested the researchers.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and currently affects over 13 million people worldwide. The direct and indirect cost of Alzheimer care is over $100bn (€ 81bn) in the US alone. The direct cost of Alzheimer care in the UK was estimated at £15bn (€ 22bn). They also note that, despite the silicic acid supplement providing double the amount of silicon as found in beer, no significant differences in blood silicon levels were observed between the two supplemented groups. "Thanks to the potential interaction observed between aluminium and silicon in the digestive tract and lower concentrations of aluminium in the blood and brain tissue, it appears that silicon in the form of silicic acid may lower the bioavailability of aluminium, and hence silicon should be regarded as a factor that may afford protection against aluminium, reducing therefore, one of the risk factor for Alzheimer's disease," wrote the researchers. "These result are in agree with the epidemiology study achieved by Gillette-Guyonnet et al. (2005), who conclude that silica in drinking water may reduce the risk of development Alzheimer's disease in elderly women."
Previously, the potential health benefits of beer have focussed on the flavonoid xanthohumol found in hops. Research has suggested that the compound could help prevent prostate cancer, but the scientists suggest supplements rather than beer for exploiting the potential benefits.
Protecting probiotics
Back at the turn of the year, researchers from Laval University and the Food Research and Development Center Agriculture and Agri-food Canada reported the potential of probiotics encapsulation in whey protein gel particles to protect the strains during processing and storage, as well as extending the food applications of the bacteria to biscuits, vegetable and frozen cranberry juice. Co-author of the study, Claude Champagne told FoodNavigator.com that the protein-based technique can provide an alternative to microencapsulation (ME) with alginate-type gels or spray-coating with fats, the two most widely-used probiotic encapsulation methods.
"It can be expected that the protein matrix would have different cell release properties than the other ME methods (polymer or fat based)," said Champagne. "Thus, applications can extend to other foods for protection during processing as well as stability during storage but also in nutraceuticals for protection and cell release in the GI tract."
The best results were obtained when the entrapped probiotics were added to vegetable juice, said the researchers, with 33.4 per cent of the cells still viable after a two-week storage period, compared to only 6.6 per cent of non-encapsulated cells. The strains faired less well in the biscuits, with only four per cent of the ME cells were viable in the biscuits after 24 hours storage at 23 degrees. Interestingly, the authors stated it was the first report on the addition of ME probiotics to biscuits, highlighting the potential of additional studies to optimise the process. "We were the first to apply the technique to probiotics and it has subsequently been picked up. Please note that we did not invent the whey gelation process, but we were the first to apply it to probiotics," said Champagne. http://www.nutraingredients.com
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