New brain health research highlights unexpected discovery of nutrient in New Zealand blackcurrants

WANT to stay sharp into your old age and support brain health naturally through diet? According to research, blackcurrants could hold the key.   

Exciting research is suggesting you may be able to boost your brain power and keep your brain healthy with anthocyanins, naturally-occurring fruit pigments that New Zealand blackcurrants are becoming famous for.

There is mounting evidence that diet and lifestyle play an important role in brain health and preventing age-related health disorders, and eating a flavonoid-rich diet may improve your brain health, cognitive function and memory.

Studies have found that flavonoids found in berries improve blood flow to the brain and also increase the number of, and strengthen the connections between, neurons, because of their suggested ability to improve cell signalling.⁶

Now, researchers in New Zealand are excited about the discovery that locally-grown blackcurrants naturally contain a nutrient – or to be specific, a neuropeptide - called cyclic Glycine-Proline (cGP), which is important for maintaining brain function as we age.

The paper⁹, published in the Journal Nutrients last year, found 600mg daily intake of a New Zealand blackcurrant extract for 28 days increased cGP levels by 19% in subjects tested in the study.

According to the New Zealand Herald, the scientist leading the project, Dr Jian Guan, an associate professor at the University of Auckland Centre for Brain Research, came across this world-first finding in blackcurrants by pure chance in the course of her research. 

The newspaper reports she found patients who were consuming this New Zealand berry fruit as part of their diets had elevated levels of cGP. The findings are exciting because: "it is something completely natural with potential to support the health of ageing people and their lifestyles". 

Dr Guan says there are strong possibilities for New Zealand blackcurrants to be used in benefiting people with other health issues. “It’s unique to see a response like this in a natural product,”  she says. 

References

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