Spice in curry could help brain heal itself:

  

A spice commonly used in curries could help the brain heal itself, new research has suggested.

Turmeric is the spice commonly found in curry — and, according to new research published in Stem Cell Research and Therapy, it may boost your brain proliferation or its power to repair itself, Medical Daily reports.

Aromatic-turmerone is a compound found within turmeric, and it’s this compound researchers from the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine in Julich, Germany, injected directly into the neutral stem cells located in a rat’s brain. They scanned the rat’s brain afterward, noticing certain parts of the brain were more active after the infusion. And when it was all said and done, these infusions increased the brain’s self-repair and recovery by 80 percent.

In a separate part of the trial, researchers bathed rodent neural stem cells (NSCs) in different concentrations of aromatic-tumerone extract. NSCs have the ability to transform into any type of brain cell and scientists suggest they could have a role in repair after damage or disease.

Dr Laura Phipps at the charity, Alzheimer's Research UK, said: "It is not clear whether the results of this research would translate to people, or whether the ability to generate new brain cells in this way would benefit people with Alzheimer's disease.

"It's not clear whether the results of this research would translate to people, or whether the ability to generate new brain cells in this way would benefit people with Alzheimer's disease. 

"We'd need to see further studies to fully understand this compound's effects in the context of a complex disease like Alzheimer's, and until then people shouldn't take this as a sign to stock up on supplies of turmeric for the spice rack."

Today, an upward of thousands of Americans suffer from these diseases. If diseases go unchecked 30 years from now, Harvard added, the number of Americans who suffer will jump to 12 million. Finding effective cures for these patients' brain and spince “is a goal of increasing urgency.”

Outside of this study, turmeric is considered the “spice for life.” Another one of its active ingredients is curcumin, and curcumin is considered an anti-inflammatory. This ingredient has also been associated with the ability to prevent diabetes, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s.