Beetroot has been shown to be nature’s equivalent of a wonder drug, holding biochemicals that reduce blood pressure, ease inflammation, and boost white blood cell counts, among other feats.
Now, researchers at the Medical University of Vienna have isolated a short-chain protein in beetroots that can cripple prolyl oligopeptidase, an enzyme that cuts up neuroprotective substances in the body and has been identified as a culprit in a range of inflammatory conditions and neurodegenerative diseases.
The bioscientists pinpointed the protein by analyzing genetic data, then looked in the genomes of existing organisms to find it.
Arthritis or Alzheimer’s Disease can’t be defeated by eating beetroot, the scientists cautioned, because the beneficial protein occurs in only minute amounts in the vegetable.
They continue to hunt for similar useful proteins and hope that other researchers will engineer ways to scale their discovery for use in clinical research.
TRENDPOST: The research is part of the biotherapeutic industry’s slow shift from treating illness with synthetic chemicals, which often carry dangerous side effects, to using biochemicals from nature to cure and prevent disease.
