Researchers have found that luteolin, a plant compound found in abundance in celery and green peppers, can disrupt inflammatory responses in your brain. This has implications for research on aging, as well as diseases such as Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis.
Inflammation is a critical part of the body’s immune response, but when it goes awry, it can lead to serious physical and mental problems. It plays a key role in many neurodegenerative diseases, and is implicated in the cognitive and behavioral impairments seen in aging.
Cells that are exposed to luteolin show a significantly diminished inflammatory response. Luteolin shuts down production of a key cytokine in the inflammatory pathway, interleukin-6 (IL-6). The effect of luteolin exposure is dramatic, resulting in as much as a 90 percent drop in IL-6 production.