A recent study gives us another good reason to pay a closer attention to various plants in nature that have a natural compount farnesol as a potential remedy for Parkinson’s. Farnesol is predominantly found in citronella, lemon grass, tuberose, cyclamen, rose, neroli, balsam and musk. The majority of these plants is used nowadays in perfume, fragnances, cosmetics and flavoring.

So what is so special about farnesol and how can it help with Parkinson’s?

The study found that farnesol helps not only prevent, but even reverse brain damage, caused by Parkinson’s (at least, in mouse models). It seems to have an ability to stop the loss of neurons that produce dopamine by blocking PARIS (parkin-interacting substrate), a key protein involved in the disease’s progression. A buildup of PARIS slows down the manufacture of the protein PGC-1alpha, that protects our brain cells from accumulation of damaging reactive oxygen molecules. Without PGC-1alpha, dopamine neurons die off, leading to the characteristic symptoms of Parkinson’s like tremors, muscle rigidity, confusion and dementia.

The researchers discovered that the mouse models with Parkinson’s fed a farnesol-supplemented diet had twice as many healthy dopamine neurons than mice not fed the farnesol-enriched diet. The farnesol-fed mice also had approximately 55% more of the protective protein PGC-1alpha in their brains than the untreated mice.

While farnesol is naturally produced, there are also synthetic versions available on the market. However, you need to be careful about the dosage as the safe doses of farnesol for people are still to be determined through the clinical trials. It is also unclear how much farnesol we can get through diet and whether this is enough for our optimal health without supplementation.

Curious? HERE is the source