The neurotoxicity of fluoride has been the major subject of academic debates for decades and nowadays, it spikes controversy among the general public too.
With the increase of claims that fluoride is bad for us, there’ve been numerous attempts to remove this dangerous toxin from drinking water.
According to one study from the Pharmacognosy Magazine titled Curcumin Attenuates Neurotoxicity Induced by Fluoride: An in Vivo Evidence, fluoride is a substances which really damages the brain and it reveals that a natural ingredient known as curcumin can mitigate the damage.
The authors of the study from the Department of Zoology, University College of Science, M.L. Sukhadia University, Udaipur, India spent the last decade finding out how fluoride triggers neurodegenerative changes in the brain of mammals, especially in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex cells.
What Are the Causes of Neurodegeneration?
The stimulation of the neuron to the point of death and oxidative stress were found to be the major culprits for neurodegeneration.
During the observations, the subjects with a condition known as fluorosis, a mottling of the tooth enamel due to excessive fluoride exposure during tooth development, had neurodegenerative changes linked with oxidative stress known as lipid peroxidation.
Surplus lipid peroxidation in the brain can minimize the total brain phospholipid content. The researchers identified the polyphenol in turmeric which is curcumin to be a great agent thanks to its potential neuroprotective properties.
Previous findings have shown that curcumin can activate as an antioxidant in three different ways.
It protects from singlet oxygen, hyrodxyl radicals, and superoxide radical damage. And, curcumin also appears to increase endogenous glutathione production, which is an important antioxidant defense system in the brain.
How Were the Results Concluded?
To test the neurotoxic influence of fluoride and prove the protective role of curcumin, the team divided lab mice in 4 different groups, i.e. zero-fluoride group, fluoride group which was given fluoride in distilled drinking water without any restrictions, an oral dose of curcumin dissolved in olive oil and fluoride in drinking water group, and only curcumin group.
The scientists tested the MDA levels in the brains of the mice from the 4 different groups. This is a marker of oxidative stress.
This showed the neuroprotective activity of curcumin against fluoride-related neurotoxicity.
Not the First Curcumin Discovery
This study isn’t the first one to show the amazing brain-saving characteristics of curcumin. In fact, there are more than 200 peer-reviewed studies that point out its neuroprotective abilities.
If we take into account the abundance of chemicals we’re faced on the daily in this post-industrial world, turmeric may be one of the most vital herbs.
Sources: