Reuters/Samsul Said
yaSalam - Minuman lazat dapat memberikan yang berusia 60 tahun memori khas sebagai seseorang yang 20 hingga 30 tahun lebih muda. Kajian Amerika Syarikat telah mendedahkan bahwa koko mengandungi bahan2 bioaktif yg membalikkan yang berkaitan dengan usia kemerosotan ingatan.
Para ilmuwan di Columbia Pusat Perubatan Universiti (CUMC) published hasil uji kaji diet, berdasarkan kesan flavanol, diekstrak dpd biji koko, pada otak manusia penuaan dalam jurnal Nature Neuroscience pada hari Ahad.
Sekumpulan 37 sukarelawan yang sihat berumur 50-69 secara rawak dibahagikan kepada 2. Setiap hari selama 3 bulan, mereka telah minum koko khusus disiapkan, yang tidak boleh didapati secara komersial. Satu kumpulan dimakan minuman dengan 900mg flavanol, dan yang lain dengan hanya 10 mg sebatian ini.
"Jika peserta mempunyai memori khas 60 tahun pada permulaan kajian ini, selepas 3 bulan bahawa orang rata2 memiliki ingatan khas 30 atau 40 tahun," kata penulis kanan Scott Kecil dalam press-release.
Cup Of Cocoa a Day Keeps Memory loss Away - scientists
A tasty drink may give a typical 60-year-old the memory as of a person 20 to 30 years younger. A US study has revealed that cocoa contains bioactive ingredients that reverse age-related memory decline.
Scientists at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) published the results of a dietary experiment, based on the effects of flavanols, extracted from cocoa beans, on the aging human brain in the journal Nature Neuroscience on Sunday.
A group of 37 healthy volunteers aged from 50 to 69 was randomly divided in two. Each day for three months, they had a specially-prepared cocoa drink, which is not available commercially. One group consumed the drink with 900mg of flavanols, and the other with only 10mg of these compounds.
"If a participant had the memory of a typical 60-year-old at the beginning of the study, after three months that person on average had the memory of a typical 30- or 40-year-old," said senior author Scott Small in a press-release.
Kawasan otak yang digariskan dalam kuning adalah hippocampus; gyrus yang dentate ditun-jukkan dalam korteks hijau dan entorhinal di ungu (The brain area outlined in yellow is the hippocampus; the dentate gyrus is shown in green and the entorhinal cortex in purple (Image from the press-release)
Matlamat utama penelitian ini adalah untuk mengkaji dentate gyrus otak - seba-hagian dpd pembentukan hippocampal yang bertanggungjawab utk pembentukan memori dan usia sensitif. Jadi para ilmuwan harus menjalankan pengimejan otak untuk mengukur isipadu darah dan membuktikan sama ada ia merupakan sumber kealpaan khas luas di kalangan orang tua.
"Saya menganggap bahawa kajian kami tidak menunjukkan, buat kali pertama, bahawa flavanols meningkatkan fungsi dentate gyrus manusia, khususnya dalam penuaan manusia," Kecil kepada AFP.
Untuk menunjukkan perbezaan sebelum & selepas eksperimen, para peserta harus lulus ujian memori yang istimewa - 20 minit latihan pengenalan pola, khususnya menangani gyrus yg bergigi. Pengiktirafan yg lebih cepat dan lebih jelas di antara golongan kaya flavanol disokong oleh ujian isipadu darah yang lebih baik mereka.
"Apabila kita pengimejan otak subjek kajian kami, kami mendapati peningkatan ketara dalam fungsi gyrus yang dentate dalam orang-orang yang mengamalkan minuman tinggi koko flavanol," kata penulis Adam M. Brickman, PhD, dari Institut Taub dalam siaran akhbar.
The core goal of the experiment was to study the brain’s dentate gyrus – a part of the hippocampal formation which is responsible for memory formation, and is age-sensitive. So the scientists had to carry out brain imaging to measure its blood volume and prove whether it is a source of typical forgetfulness widespread among the elderly.
"I suppose that our study does show, for the first time, that flavanols improves the function of humans' dentate gyrus, particularly in ageing humans," Small told AFP.
To demonstrate the difference before and after the experiment, the participants had to pass special memory tests – a 20-minute pattern-recognition exercise, specifically addressing the dentate gyrus. Faster and clearer recognition among the high-flavanol group was backed by their better blood volume tests.
"When we imaged our research subjects' brains, we found noticeable improvements in the function of the dentate gyrus in those who consumed the high-cocoa-flavanol drink," said lead author Adam M. Brickman, PhD, of the Taub Institute in a press release.
Kebanyakan kaedah pemprosesan koko menghapus banyak flavanol yang terdapat dalam tum-buhan mentah (Most methods of processing cocoa remove many of the flavanols found in the raw plant (Image from the press-release)
Walau bagaimanapun, keputusan harus disahkan dalam satu kajian dari kumpulan yang lebih besar, dan mereka tidak memohon kepada penyakit yg berkaitan dengan hilang ingatan, seperti Alzheimer disebabkan. Ahli2 sains juga memberi amaran bahawa ia tdk bermakna yg memerlukan peningkatan dlm penggunaan coklat - & sebahagian besar koko mengandungi antioksidan yg hilang semasa pemprosesan.
"Sangat sederhana, jumlah flavanol yang terdapat dalam coklat adalah sangat kecil berbanding dengan jumlah yang sangat tinggi flavanol diekstrak bahawa subjek kami digunakan. Hal yang sama berlaku untuk kebanyakan makanan atau teh yang lain," Kecil menulis.
Kajian ini disokong oleh sebuah syarikat makanan besar Amerika Syarikat, yang telah mengambil tanggungjawab untuk mengeluarkan dan menyediakan minuman itu dalam apa-apa cara supaya ia tidak hilang dari kilang mentah.
Selain daripada koko dan coklat, flavanol banyak terdapat di beberapa teh, sayur-sayuran dan buah-buahan - seperti anggur, epal atau beri biru, tetapi jenis mereka berbeza-beza secara meluas. Mereka juga dipercayai utk meningkatkan kesihatan kardiovaskular - untuk mencegah serangan jantung dan strok.
Neuropsikolog kognitif Dr Ashok Jansari memberitahu Bebas: "Memandangkan pen-duduk DUNIA semakin tua, dgn mengasingkan kawasan tertentu otak yang semakin lemah dalam berfungsi seperti yang kita semakin tua, dan menunjukkan bahawa campur tangan bukan farmakologi dapat meningkatkan pembelajaran maklumat baru, penulis tlh membuat sumbangan yg besar utk membantu kami memperbaiki kesihatan kognitif kita."
However, the results should be verified in a study of a bigger group, and they don’t apply to the disease-associated memory loss, such as Alzheimer caused. Scientists also warn that it doesn’t mean the need of increase in chocolate consumption – and most of the antioxidants cocoa contains are lost during the processing.
"Very simply, the amount of flavanols that are found in chocolate is minuscule compared to the very high amount of extracted flavanols that our subjects consumed. The same is true for most other foods or teas," Small wrote.
The research was supported by a large US food corporation, which took the responsibility for extracting and preparing the drink in such a way so that it is not lost from the raw plant.
Apart from cocoa and chocolate, flavanols are abundant in some teas, vegetables and fruit – such as grapes, apples or blueberries, but their types vary widely. They are also believed to improve cardiovascular health – to prevent heart attacks and strokes.
Cognitive neuropsychologist Dr. Ashok Jansari told the Independent: “Given a globally ageing population, by isolating a particular area of the brain that is weakening in functioning as we grow older, and demonstrating that a non-pharmacological intervention can improve learning of new information, the authors have made a significant contribution to helping us improve our cognitive health.”
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