Chinese ‘bone-builder’ shows promise in BOOSTING memory
Here’s the thing too many folks don’t understand about memory.
It’s not just about the PAST…
Like when you flip through photographs and recognize the names and faces of old friends and family.
It’s about your PRESENT… and FUTURE, too!
Because we’re forming NEW memories with every step we take…
Which helps keep us SHARP and INDEPENDENT… well into our “golden years.”
It means REMEMBERING what we walked into the kitchen for…
NOT telling the same story twice…
And FINDING our way back home after visiting someplace new.
In fact, some folks can recall every tiny detail about their youth… but they can’t manage the ins and outs of daily life.
That’s part of what makes supporting healthy memory function so complex…
And why we’re STILL looking for new ways to stay sharp as a tack.
Here’s one I guarantee you’ve NEVER heard of. (It’s pretty exciting!)
I recently shared with you how keeping your bones STRONG could help SAVE your precious memories…
And how certain nutrients could help support BOTH your bone health and your brain health.
Well, I’d like to add another nutrient to that list – one that’s less commonly found here in the West, but has a SOLID history in traditional medicine.
It’s a polyphenol called curculigoside… and one of its main sources in nature is golden-eye grass, a plant with yellow flowers known in the scientific community as Curculigo orchioides.
In India’s Ayurvedic medicine, this plant is called “kali musli” or “black musli.”
And in Traditional Chinese Medicine, herbalists call the medicine made from its underground stem “Xian Mao” (or by the Latin name Rhizoma Curculiginis).
It’s in China that you’ll find curculigoside-rich Xian Mao used traditionally to SHORE UP bone strength…
A mechanism that’s been CONFIRMED in several animal studies by modern-day researchers.
But the bone-building activities of MULTIPLE forms of curculigoside appear to go hand-in-hand with the ability to INHIBIT memory deficits!
In one in vitro study out of France, curculigosides B and D helped SLAM THE BRAKES on the formation of beta-amyloid, one of the misfolded proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Now, you’ve read right here in eAlert how amyloid deposits are ASSOCIATED with Alzheimer’s… but don’t necessarily CAUSE the disease…
And aren’t necessarily the main culprit behind memory loss.
But as a pair of animal studies out of China clearly show, the power of curculigosides doesn’t stop there.
In the first study, from 2015, curculigoside helped BEAT BACK bone loss… while at the same time ENHANCING performance in a test of spatial learning and memory.
In the second study, from 2017, researchers tested curculigoside-rich Xian Mao with Yin Yang Huo (a.k.a. horny goat weed) — a common combination known as “Er-Xian decoction,” used in TCM to treat osteoporosis and other diseases of aging.
This “EX” combo helped BANISH inflammation in animals that had been induced to develop Alzheimer’s…
And helped REDUCE markers of oxidative stress… and INCREASE antioxidant activity in the brain.
Even better, treatment with EX was associated with IMPROVED performance in a water maze test… which indicated FASTER learning and BETTER memory.
Here’s the latest development…
In a 2021 animal study out of Bangladesh, researchers discovered that this plant source of curculigoside appears to act as an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor…
Which means it could BLOCK the action of the enzyme that DRAINS your supply of the “memory hormone,” acetylcholine.
That’s the SAME mechanism that Big Pharma has been chasing after in its efforts to develop an Alzheimer’s drug!
Now, the effectiveness of TCM remedies depends on a VERY SPECIFIC preparation of the herb… given in JUST THE RIGHT amounts…
And often with EXACTLY the right herbal combinations.
That’s why you should consult with a certified Chinese herbalist… rather than trying to source any of these ingredients on your own.
In fact, if you find a product labeled “kali musli,” it may have been formulated for its Ayurvedic purpose as an aphrodisiac… and not as a bone-strengthening brain-builder!
Leave this one to the experts.
To boning up on your memory boosters,
Sarah Reagan
