Alzheimer's afflicts more than 24 million people worldwide. However, the inner workings of a grape seed may hold the solution to this devastating disease.

Scientists with the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York are investigating to see if chemical compounds from grape seed extract could provide protection against a disease which has been deemed "the long goodbye."

Mount Sinai researcher Giulio Pasinetti, Ph.D., obtained evidence suggesting that chemicals in grape seed extract called polyphenols, which are already believed to possess cardio-protective qualities, might also help guard against Alzheimer's. A particular class of polyphenol, called condensed tannins, were thought to be likely candidates for the anti-Alzheimer's effect.

In 2007, Pasinetti contacted Richard Dixon, D.Phil., Senior Vice President and Director of the Plant Biology Division at The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, about joining the NCCAM, because of Dixon's internationally renowned research on condensed tannins. Dixon recently received a three-year, $320,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of the consortium, which also includes scientists from Purdue University, Rutgers University and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

Dixon's research seeks to understand and utilize the biosynthesis of condensed tannins in alfalfa in an effort to reduce the incidence of pasture bloat in ruminant animals, such as cattle, and develop bloat-safe alfalfa. Additionally, his research holds the potential to advance human health discoveries.

"The plant science research at the Noble Foundation is focused on benefiting agriculture," said Dixon, one of only two members of the National Academy of Sciences from Oklahoma. "However, as with many of our research projects, there are applications for human health. For many years, I had been considering how our work could move beyond agriculture to exploit the potential of tannins and related compounds for prevention of diseases such as cancer. The work with polyphenols in grape seed extract is a good example of how plant science can be applied to make inroads for human health breakthroughs."

As part of the NCCAM consortium, Dixon's laboratory works to fractionate grape seed extract, which is a complex mixture of many different chemicals, many of which are polyphenols. They are looking for the specific compound, or group of compounds, responsible for imparting the health benefits of grape seed extract. Initial findings are already being reported back to Mount Sinai's research group, who then follow up with detailed analyses of the effects of the isolated compounds on brain proteins in the test tube, and on memory in animal model systems.

"This is a long-term process that requires us to answer many questions," Dixon said. "You must identify what chemical compounds are at play within the grape seed extract and then understand how the chemical compounds impact the body. You must see if the chemicals make it to the brain or if they cause a secondary chemical reaction within the body that has the beneficial effect. We hope eventually that our research leads to the development of a plant-derived agent that protects against Alzheimer's."