Culinary plant-based decoctions: A promising approach for combatting neurodegenerative disorders

• Author(s): Grosso, Clara ; Martins, Rosário ; Delerue-Matos, Cristina ; Martins, Rosario
• Date: 2025
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.22/31029
• Origin: Repositório Científico do Instituto Politécnico do Porto
• Document Type: Conference poster
• Language: English
• Contributor(s): REPOSITÓRIO P.PORTO

Description

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of nutritional therapy in preventing or treating neurodegenerative disorders. To achieve this, decoctions from 5 culinary plants - turmeric (Curcuma longa L.), rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus Spenn.), lemon basil (Ocimum basilicum L. var. citriodorum), spearmint (Mentha spicata L.) and winter savory (Satureja montana L.) - were evaluated for their ability to combat reactive oxygen species (ROS), reactive nitrogen species (RNS), and enzymes associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The total phenolic content ranged from 43.2 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g extract in turmeric to 327.3 mg GAE/g extract in rosemary. While lemon basil, spearmint, rosemary and winter savory decoctions displayed significant superoxide anion radical scavenging activity (IC50 values between 46.8 and 62.0 µg/mL), winter savory was the least active of this group against nitric oxide radical (IC50=314.5 µg/mL). Rosemary extract was the most active inhibitor of cholinesterases, exhibiting IC50=1068.4 µg/mL for acetylcholinesterase and IC50=858.8 µg/mL for butyrylcholinesterase. Turmeric decoction, with the lowest phenolic content, showed the least promising results among the tested extracts. This study demonstrates the potential of culinary plant decoctions as nutritional therapies for neurodegenerative disorders. Rosemary exhibited the most promising results, showing high activity in scavenging free radicals and inhibiting cholinesterases, suggesting its potential to be included in a functional food or food supplement.