Eating seaweed, according to a study conducted in 2024 Ecklonia cava May slow or prevent Parkinson’s disease. Researchers have found that antioxidants in seaweed, often used in soups and salads in Asian cuisine, may protect our neurons from free radicals to prevent this debilitating disease.

Parkinson’s disease is a disease that affects the nervous system, causing symptoms such as tremors, stiffness and difficulty moving. This occurs when neurons in the brain that produce dopamine, a chemical that helps control movement, begin to die. Although Parkinson’s disease itself is not fatal, it can cause serious complications that can lead to death. Unfortunately, there is no cure yet.

But previous researchers have found a link between dietary antioxidants and the prevention of Parkinson’s disease. For example, studies have found that resveratrol, found in many plants and fruits, including red grapes, berries and peanuts, protected dopamine-producing neurons in the brain from dying in several mouse models of Parkinson’s disease.

Ellagic acid, α-lipoic acid, and myrtenal improved learning, memory, and neuromuscular coordination in mouse models of Parkinson’s disease. Ellagic acid is found in many fruits and vegetables, including grapes, pomegranates, strawberries, and hazelnuts.

Myrtenal is found in various plants such as marjoram and sage. α-lipoic acid is found in red meat, spinach and broccoli.

Several studies have shown that drinking tea may help prevent Parkinson’s disease. Although we don’t know exactly how it works, some studies suggest it has to do with the antioxidants found in tea.

Fighting against free radicals

Our bodies produce harmful free radicals in response to environmental exposures such as UV rays and pollution. Free radicals are also a natural byproduct of normal cellular processes.

Antioxidants act as protectors, protecting cells from damage caused by free radicals. Our bodies naturally produce antioxidants, but certain foods, such as Ecklonia cava, are rich in antioxidants and can support our natural antioxidants to help our bodies fight free radical damage.

In a recent study in Japan, researchers induced Parkinson’s disease in mice using the pesticide rotenone.

Rotenone kills dopamine-producing neurons in the brain, causing mice to develop a disease similar to Parkinson’s disease, with similar symptoms such as slow movement and impaired gastrointestinal motility (when there is trouble moving food and waste through the digestive tract).

After inducing Parkinson’s disease in mice, the researchers fed them some of the antioxidants from Ecklonia cava and some of the normal diet. They found that the mice fed the antioxidants had protected dopamine-producing neurons in their brains. They also had fewer symptoms of Parkinson’s disease than mice fed the normal diet.

The researchers also studied the effects of antioxidants on cells grown in dishes and exposed to rotenone, which kills cells by increasing the production of free radicals.

The researchers found that antioxidants reduced rotenone-induced free radical production in cells and prevented cell death. This research opens up the possibility of using Ecklonia cava polyphenols (plant compounds with antioxidant properties) to develop new methods for treating and preventing Parkinson’s disease.

Lost in translation?

Unfortunately, the results of studies on animal models and cells cannot always be transferred to humans. For example, another antioxidant, vitamin C, has been shown to protect against Parkinson’s disease in cells and animal models, but it does not have the same effect in humans.

This is because animal and cell models do not fully mimic Parkinson’s disease in humans. Animals have different brain structures and functions than humans, meaning the ways the disease develops and progresses may be different. On the other hand, even when researchers use human cells, the cell models are not as sophisticated.

Parkinson’s disease affects the entire brain and body, involving many different cell types and their interactions. Cell models often focus on a single cell type and ignore this complexity.

Parkinson’s disease develops over years, and its symptoms change over time. Cell and animal models cannot easily reproduce this long-term progression. For example, while most laboratory mice have a maximum lifespan of two years, Parkinson’s disease is thought to take decades to develop.

Ultimately, large-scale, robust clinical studies are needed to test the effectiveness of Ecklonia cava in preventing or slowing the progression of Parkinson’s disease. However, since Ecklonia cava is already available in dietary supplements, there is probably no harm in taking it regularly.