Scientists Turn to Sage to Combat Alzheimers
Thu Aug 28, 7:09 PM ET Add Health - Reuters to My Yahoo!



LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists searching for a cure for Alzheimer's disease (news - web sites) have found a potential ally in the humble herb sage.


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Alzheimer's is one of the most common forms of dementia, affecting some 10 million people worldwide, making it one of the hottest areas of pharmaceutical research.

Checking the writings of herbalists working four centuries ago, scientists at the northern English universities of Newcastle and Northumbria found a marked improvement in the memory capabilities of people taking sage oil extract.

The finding was consistent with a discovery by researchers at the Universities' Medicinal Plant Research Center that sage protects a key chemical destroyed in Alzheimer's.

"This research does have serious implications for people suffering from Alzheimer's disease, as it will inform drug research and development," lead researcher Nicola Tildesley said in a statement, noting sage has no side effects.

"This proves how valuable the work by old herbalists is, and they shouldn't just be ignored because they were writing centuries ago," she added.

It is by no means the first time scientists have turned back to the plant world to find cures for diseases -- particularly Alzheimer's.

Johnson & Johnson and Shire Pharmaceutical already market a drug called Reminyl derived from daffodil bulbs while Britain's Phytopharm is working on an experimental compound from an unnamed Asian plant.