Coconut Oil's Impact on Alzheimer's Disease
Application of the Research: Coconut Oil's Impact on Alzheimer's Disease
At SuiteFood, we are committed to utilizing the latest scientific findings to create products that offer significant health benefits. Recent research highlights the potential of coconut oil in mitigating symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) through its influence on amyloid precursor protein (APP) expression and amyloid peptide secretion. This groundbreaking discovery aligns with our mission to harness the health benefits of coconut to enhance cognitive health.
Authors
Ananya Bansal, Megan Kirschner, Li Zu, Dongming Cai, Lumin Zhang
Abstract
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) affects 5.3 million people in the U.S., impairing brain regions responsible for memory. Mutations in the amyloid precursor protein (APP) gene are linked to increased plaque formation, obstructing nerve cell communication, reducing dendritic formation, increasing cell death, and promoting neuroinflammation. Given suggestions that coconut oil alleviates AD symptoms, we examined its impact on APP expression and amyloid peptide secretion in N2a cells expressing human APP (N2a/APP695). Coconut oil treatment reduced APP expression and amyloid peptide secretion (Aβ40 and Aβ42) while promoting N2a cell differentiation. Our data suggest ADP-Ribosylation Factor 1 (ARF1) contributes to these effects. High ARF1 expression in primary neuronal cells from mice overexpressing Swedish mutant APP was reduced by coconut oil. Immunostaining revealed APP co-localized with ARF1 in the Golgi apparatus, with this interaction disrupted by coconut oil. ARF1 knockdown using siRNA also decreased amyloid peptide secretion, confirming ARF1’s role in this process.
Leave a comment