ALA-rich perilla oil shows potential in preventing Alzheimer’s

A study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food revealed that Perilla frutescens (perilla), which is full of alpha-linoleic acid (ALA), can help treat or prevent neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. For the study, researchers observed the protective effect of three kinds of vegetable oils with different fatty acid compositions against cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) mouse models.

• The AD mouse models were first given intracerebroventricular injections of amyloid beta 25–35 (AB 25–35).
• Once the brains of the mice were injected with AB 23-35, they were fed three kinds of oil: olive oil (rich in oleic acid), corn oil (also full of linoleic acid), and perilla oil (rich in alpha-linolenic acid [ALA]).
• The mice were administered the oils in dosages of 500 milligrams per kilogram (of their body weight) per day (mg/kg/day) for 14 days.
• The AB 25–35 induced learning and memory dysfunction on the subjects based on the results of the Morris water maze, novel object recognition, and T-maze tests.
• However, out of the three vegetable oils, the group of mice that received perilla oil “showed [a] marked attenuation of cognitive impairment.” This means that the mice models were able to explore a new route or object more compared to an old route/object in both the T-maze and the novel object recognition tests.
• For the Morris water maze test, the mice that received perilla oil took less time to reach the platform and increased the number of crossings over the target quadrant where the platform was previously located.

The researchers concluded that ALA-rich perilla oil could potentially be used to prevent or treat Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Browse more articles about scientific findings on natural ways to manage or prevent the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease at Alzheimers.news.

Journal Reference: 

Lee AY, Choi JM, Lee J, Lee MH, Lee S, Cho EJ. EFFECTS OF VEGETABLE OILS WITH DIFFERENT FATTY ACID COMPOSITIONS ON COGNITION AND MEMORY ABILITY IN A?25–35-INDUCED ALZHEIMERS DISEASE MOUSE MODEL. Journal of Medicinal Food. 2016;19(10):912–921. DOI: 10.1089/jmf.2016.3737