Lycium barbarum protects brain cells from Alzheimer's disease

According to Hong Kong Ta Kung Pao, many people regard wolfberry fruit as a traditional Chinese medicine for nourishing liver and improving eyesight. A study conducted by the Department of Anatomy of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong has confirmed that wolfberry fruit can protect neuron cells and help prevent Alzheimer's disease.

However, Assistant Professor Zheng Chuanzhong of the Department of Anatomy of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong, who is in charge of the research, said that it has not yet been found what ingredients in Lycium barbarum can effectively protect brain cells, so the next step of the research will be to conduct animal experiments and find out what ingredients in Lycium barbarum can effectively protect brain cells.

In 2002, the Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, HKU was the first to discover that one of the signaling pathways leading to apoptosis in brain cells, double-stranded ribonuclease, is associated with the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease. All cells in the human body will undergo apoptosis due to activation of double-stranded ribonuclease signaling pathways. The Faculty of Medicine of HKU has been conducting research on Chinese medicine for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease since 2004. It was unexpectedly discovered that Lycium barbarum contains substances that reduce the activation of double-stranded ribonuclease signal transmission pathway. Zheng Chuanzhong pointed out that in addition to nourishing liver and improving eyesight, wolfberry fruit is also used as an anti-aging traditional Chinese medicine.

Forgetting the time, forgetting where objects are usually placed, losing their way because they cannot find their way... all these are signs of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease is one of the most common geriatric diseases. There are currently about 360 000 new cases of Alzheimer's disease worldwide each year and about 100 000 people die from it.