A team of scientists from the Scripps Research Institute in the U.S. has transformed a natural compound—carnosic acid—into a new medication targeting the most common form of dementia: Alzheimer’s disease.
Carnosic acid, found in herbs like rosemary and sage, is known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. However, in its pure form, it is unstable. Researchers have now synthesized a stable derivative of this compound, which has shown effective results in combating inflammatory processes in the brains of test mice.
The rodents that received the stable derivative exhibited improved memory, an increase in neuronal synapses, reduced inflammation, and enhanced clearance of toxic proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
“We conducted several different memory tests, and all of them showed positive results thanks to the drug. It didn’t just slow down the decline; it actually reversed the situation,” said neurobiologist Stuart Lipton, the lead author of the study.
What Did the Scientists Discover?
One of the main challenges researchers faced was obtaining carnosic acid in a stable form that could remain in the brain long enough to have a therapeutic effect. After numerous trials, scientists identified a suitable diacetylated form—diAcCA.
The gut converts diAcCA into carnosic acid before it enters the bloodstream, where it is absorbed about 20 percent more effectively than pure carnosic acid. After conversion, carnosic acid reached therapeutic levels in the brain within an hour.
Different groups of mice with Alzheimer’s disease were given either diAcCA or a placebo three times a week for three months. The scientists studied the drug’s impact on brain tissue and observed how well the mice performed on exercises designed to assess their memory and learning abilities.
In the brains of mice that were administered the diAcCA compound, there was a reduction in the excessive accumulation of proteins known as damage markers caused by Alzheimer’s disease.
“By combating inflammation and oxidative stress with the diAcCA compound, we effectively increased the number of synapses in the brain. We also removed other misfolded or aggregated proteins, such as phosphorylated tau and beta-amyloid, which are believed to cause Alzheimer’s disease and are biomarkers of the disease process,” Dr. Lipton noted.
Although the development and testing of the medication are still in the early stages, scientists find the results very promising, as reported by Science Alert. However, the team requires clinical trials to confirm that diAcCA has the same effect on the human brain.
Given the anti-inflammatory properties of carnosic acid, which have also been documented in previous studies, Dr. Lipton and his colleagues hope that this treatment could be used against other inflammation-related ailments, ranging from type 2 diabetes to Parkinson’s disease.
Since diAcCA is a modified form of carnosic acid, the safety of which has been previously confirmed by researchers, the team is optimistic that new medications can be developed on an accelerated timeline.
The study’s findings were published in the journal Antioxidants.