McCord Research Identifies Olive Compounds that May Act Against Alzheimer's Disease
CORALVILLE, Iowa, Feb. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Scientists at the McCord Research Laboratory in Melbourne, Australia led by Tom Karagiannis PhD are using a molecular modeling approach to investigate interactions between olive compounds and specific proteins found in Alzheimer's disease. Darlene McCord PhD, the Chief Scientific Officer of McCord Research, Coralville, Iowa recognizes Alzheimer's disease as a rapidly increasing global health challenge that her company will help tackle through innovative scientific research and key collaborations.
The McCord Research team is currently investigating the pathogenic proteins, beta-amyloid and tau that cause neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's for interactions with olive phenolic compounds. "The Mediterranean diet and its major component, olive oil are linked to effects against neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease, and certain compounds derived from olive oil have been found to interact directly with beta-amyloid and tau proteins," stated Dr. Karagiannis.
Collaborations between scientists at Monash and RMIT Universities in Melbourne are aimed at identifying novel compounds with activities against these pathogenic proteins. "By utilizing the OliveNet(TM) database that was recently created by our team, we are in a great position to identify novel olive phenolic compounds, which we can then synthesize and examine in model systems of Alzheimer's disease," continued Dr. Karagiannis.
The McCord Research team in Melbourne has already identified a number of olive-derived phenolic compounds with potential activity against beta-amyloid and tau proteins. The network of collaborating scientists led by Dr. Karagiannis is actively pursuing research aimed at clarifying the important effects of the Mediterranean diet against Alzheimer's disease as well as delineating critical interactions of pathogenic proteins with key dietary compounds.
McCord Research is located at 2769 Heartland Dr., Suite 303, Coralville, IA. For further information, call 319-351-3201 or go to: www.mccordresearch.com
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