Onion’s antioxidant potential may offer brain benefits

Supplementing the diet with onion and extracts from the vegetable may protect the brain from additional damage linked to stroke, suggests preliminary data from a study with mice.

 

According to findings published in the peer-reviewed journal Nutrition , the antioxidant potential of onion extracts was associated with higher activity of antioxidant enzymes and lower levels of in malondialdehyde (MDA – a reactive carbonyl compound and a well-established marker of oxidative stress) in brain tissue.

 

“The present study may provide extra motivation for the consumption of onions,” wrote researchers from Ajou University School of Medicine in South Korea.

 

“The results from this study suggest that onion extract may be a beneficial nutrient for the prevention of ischemic [blood-brain barrier] damage, and that the underlying mechanisms may include, at least in part, its antioxidant effects.”

 

Study details

 

The Korean researchers reduced blood flow in the brain of lab mice and then compared the effects of an onion extract with control animals. Specifically, the researchers looked at dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier, and changes in the activities of antioxidant enzymes catalase and glutathione peroxidase, and on levels of MDA.

 

Results showed that the content of water in the brain increased following the induced stroke, but this was reduced in onion-treated animals.

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