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Compound in Dark Chocolate and Red Wine Improves Short Term Memory: Study

Compound in Dark Chocolate and Red Wine Improves Short Term Memory
(Photo : Flickr) Compound in Dark Chocolate and Red Wine Improves Short Term Memory

Obese adults who regularly consume red wine and dark chocolates have good memory power, finds a study.

Chemical compounds in red wine and dark chocolates are widely known for their anti-aging and anti-inflammatory properties that protect against heart diseases and diabetes. Scientist from the University of Berlin's Charité School of Medicine in Germany discovered that short term memory in overweight adults is elevated by regular intake of resveratrol supplements, reports the Free Press Journal.

Resveratrol is found in dark chocolate, red wine, peanuts and berries and is known to improve brain functioning and connectivity in areas related to cognition and memory by increasing sugar metabolisms in the body.

Past clinical trials tested the memory boosting benefits on primates and other researchers focused on the compound's efficacy in warding off cancer risk. In the current study, experts employed 46 overweight but healthy participants of whom 23 daily consumed 200 milligrams of resveratrol for six months and the rest were placed on a placebo. The researchers specifically chose obese subjects as they are more responsive to the potency of resveratrol. All participants underwent brain scans and memory and blood tests before and after the experiment.

It was observed individuals who received supplements were able to recollect more number of words they saw 30 minutes before than subjects from the control group. Their brain scans also revealed more communication in the Hippocampus region associated with improved memory skills. The blood samples of these participants contained low levels of a bio marker for high blood sugar indicating more blood sugar ingestion enhances memory skills.

"From a clinical point of view, our findings suggest that regular, high-level intake of resveratrol in the elderly may convey protective effects on cognitive functions, a hypothesis that now needs to be evaluated in large-scale clinical trials," Veronica Witte, study author and a neuroscientist at the Charité School of Medicine, told the Live Science.

The authors believe further investigation is needed to determine the effects of resveratrol in normal weight participants.

More information is available online in the journal Neuroscience.

Jun 07, 2014 03:58 AM EDT By

MD News Daily

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