Turmeric mitochondria fed to mice reach the brain and reverse aging cognitive decline
Teng Y, Luo C, Xu Q, Mu J, Teng L
Medicinal Plants
Turmeric growing in your garden or sitting in your spice cabinet carries living cellular machinery that, in mice, crossed from gut to brain and restored mental function lost to aging.
Every plant cell contains mitochondria, the tiny powerhouses that generate energy. Scientists discovered that when they fed purified plant mitochondria to old mice, those mitochondria survived digestion, traveled to the brain, and merged with the brain's immune cells. Once inside, small genetic molecules from the plant mitochondria dialed down a damaging energy process in the brain cells, cutting harmful byproducts and boosting usable energy in a way that measurably improved the mice's thinking and memory.
Key Findings
Orally administered turmeric-derived mitochondria traveled from gut to brain in aged mice, where they physically fused with microglial mitochondria via mitofusin 1.
Plant microRNAs (Tae-miR319 and Osa-miR166a-3p) from turmeric mitochondria suppressed complex I subunits ND4 and ND5, reducing reactive oxygen species and increasing ATP production in microglia.
Human elderly subjects showed the same overactivated reverse electron transport and ROS overproduction pattern that plant mitochondria corrected in mice, suggesting therapeutic relevance.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Researchers found that mitochondria extracted from edible plants like turmeric can travel from the gut to the brain when fed to aged mice, fuse with brain immune cells, and reverse cognitive decline by reducing harmful oxidative stress and boosting energy production.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Plant-derived mitochondria mitigate aging-related neurodegeneration by reprogramming microglial mitochondrial energy metabolism.
Intercellular mitochondrial transfer is pivotal in both healthy and pathological states. Supplementing healthy mitochondria is emerging as a promising therapeutic approach for various diseases. Non...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Was this useful?
Want to tell us more? (optional)
Thanks for the note!
Something went wrong — please try again.
Too many submissions. Try again in an hour.
Ancient Amazonian forests were planted and tended by Indigenous farmers
Forests and fruits we romanticize as wild — including many plants now in our kitchens and gardens — may exist in their current abundance precisely because an...
Turmeric, or Curcuma longa, is a flowering plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. It is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between 20 and 30 °C and high annual rainfall to thrive. Plants are gathered each y...