A team of researchers headed by Xin-Fu Zhou of Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia has found that eating grape seeds could help ward off degenerative brain conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers found that mice fed with grape seed extract for six months had "better cognitive function" than those on a normal diet. The seeds prevent the formation of deposits of amyloid beta proteins in the brain which is a major cause of the disease.

Alzheimer’s is caused when there is an over production of these amyloid-beta proteins, or the body is unable to degrade them, leading to the formation of clumps or snarls in the brain. "This aggregation of amyloid will cause loss of nerve connections, cell death and inflammation in the brain, leading to cognitive decline," Zhou said.

Professor Zhou said, "Grape seed extract demonstrates a strong disease-modifying effect. As a dietary supplement, the effect of grape seeds is significant and beneficial. It is a safe, natural product which contains 'goodies' that we shouldn't throw away."

In the six month study mice with symptoms of dementia were fed the extract of grape seeds and they showed a 50% reduction in damage to their brain cells. The reason could be the fact that grape seeds like many other fruits and vegetables contain polyphenols - complex molecules with anti-oxidant properties, and some have been identified by scientists as a possible method for reducing amyloid deposition, according to a Flinders release. This could be an inexpensive prevention for Alzheimer’s disease the researchers said.

The researchers in collaboration with Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) team, selected to use the polyphenol extract from grape seeds for this study.

'We found that grape seed extract was a very powerful agent in reducing amyloid-beta deposits in the brain. It also produced marginal improvements in cognitive function and, most importantly, reduced inflammation," Zhou said.

Lead researcher Dr Yanjiang Wang said that wine consumption in moderation is already recommended as prevention for Alzheimer’s disease. As the disease afflicts mostly the elderly who will not drink wine, grape seed extract is a better option for them.

"The level of damage to DNA, which is a fundamental cause of accelerated ageing and degenerative diseases, was reduced by including grape seed extract in the diet of these mice," said CSIRO scientist Dr Michael Fenech.

The study’s results are to be presented to the Society for Neuroscience which meets in Washington DC later this week.