Researchers at the University of Texas at El Paso have found that coffee grounds may play an important role in preventing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
- Researchers have discovered that caffeic acid-based carbon quantum dots – derived from spent coffee grounds – have the potential to protect brain cells from damage caused by several neurodegenerative diseases.
- These substances were able to eliminate free radicals or prevent them from causing damage and inhibited the aggregation of amyloid protein fragments.
- This discovery could lead to a treatment.
Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, concentration… we lends many virtues to coffee, but they go well beyond the drink. Researchers from the University of Texas at El paso recently made a surprising discovery: Coffee grounds could help prevent neurodegenerative diseases.
Neurodegenerative disease: neuroprotective substances derived from coffee grounds
Texas scientists noticed that carbon quantum dots (nanocrystals semiconductors, generally 2 to 10 nanometers in diameter) acid based caffeic (CACQD) are neuroprotectors during experiments carried out in the laboratory. These substances were able to eliminate free radicals and prevent them from causing damage. They were also able to inhibit the aggregation of amyloid protein fragments, characteristic markers of neurodegenerative diseases. However, these CACQDs were obtained after cooking samples of coffee grounds at 200 degrees for four hours.
After these trials, the team believes that CACQDs could prevent the development of neurodegenerative pathologies, whether the condition is triggered by factors like obesity, age, and exposure to pesticides or other toxic chemicals.
“Acid-based carbon quantum dots caffeinated have the potential to transform the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders”assures Jyotish Kumardoctoral student in the department of chemistry and biochemistry, in a communicated.
Coffee grounds : a path to curative treatment
Neurodegenerative pathologies, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, represent a growing burden on society, affecting millions of people worldwide. Currently, there are no curative treatments. But for researchers at the University of Texas at El pasotheir discovery could be a game-changer. They believe that treatment using carbon quantum dots acid based caffeic could be effective in preventing the development of neurodegenerative disorders, if administered at an early stage of the disease.
“It is essential to tackle these disorders before they reach the clinical stage,” explains it Pr Mahesh Narayan. “Any current treatment that can treat advanced symptoms of neurodegenerative disease is simply beyond the means of most people. Our goal is to find a solution that can prevent most cases of these conditions at a manageable cost for as many patients as possible.”
Indeed, the abundance of coffee grounds would make the process both economical and sustainable, notes Professor Narayan who is supervising the study. The work of scientists is described in an article published in the November issue of the journal Environmental Research.