Tocomin Tocotrienols help protect the brain from the toxic effects of glutamate and from stroke damage

Tocomin? Tocotrienols help protect the brain from the toxic effects of glutamate and from stroke damage

Glutamate is a neurotransmitter normally needed in the brain for memory and learning. Glutamate is the primary or most common excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain. However, when the nerves in the brain are exposed to too much glutamate they become overexcited and burn out: the glutamate becomes toxic instead of beneficial. In a previous study, researchers from Ohio State University Medical Center showed that Tocomin? brand Tocotrienols, a highly protective group in the vitamin E family, block the toxicity of glutamate on brain cells and prevent glutamate-induced brain cell death.

In this new study the team of researchers tested the effects of Tocomin? Tocotrienols on the brain of spontaneously hypertensive rats (hypertensive means having high blood pressure). The rats suffered a stroke and then were supplemented with a low dose of Tocomin? palm derived Tocotrienols. High blood pressure is a major risk for developing a stroke and these rats are commonly used for stroke research by major research institutions. The low dose tocotrienols decreased the amount of brain damage caused by the stroke. The Tocomin? Tocotrienols were effective in protecting the brain from both glutamate and after a stroke. The research was performed at the departments of Surgery, Neurology, and Internal Medicine, at The Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus Ohio, and The Department of Psychology, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, and is published in the September 15th, 2005 issue of the journal Stroke, a journal of the American Heart Association.

Commentary by Jerry Hickey, R.Ph.

Do not just depend on medication to lower your cholesterol, focus on diet and nutrition and include plant sterol containing foods or plant sterol containing supplements as part of your daily healthy lifestyle.

High blood pressure in association with obesity a real killer and it is worse if you add diabetes or high cholesterol

Aronia berries are rich in anthocyanin polyphenols (very powerful antioxidants in this case). The particular anthocyanins in Aronia are very protective in the digestive tract, liver, kidneys, and they have anti-inflammatory activity.

Indomethacin is a prescription NSAID drug in the same family as ibuprofen and naprosyn and also aspirin. A big problem with these drugs is that they commonly cause inflammation and even ulcers in the stomach. These drugs cause thousands of deaths each year frequently due to complications from internal bleeding.

In this study rats were given an Aronia product one hour before administration of Indomethacin. The Indomethacin was used to cause sores in the lining of the stomach. Four hours after Indomethacin it was found that the rats pretreated with Aronia berry had fewer and smaller stomach lesions. The depth and severity of the lesions was also reduced. The Aronia improved the ability of the stomach to coat itself with a protective mucous lining in response to the Indomethacin caused inflammation. The Aronia berries also reduced stomach inflammation by quenching the amount of free radicals generated by the drug in the stomach lining. The study is published in the April 2005 issue of the journal Experimental and Toxicological Pathology.