Espresso can fight proteins – provocateurs of Alzheimer’s disease

Researchers from the University of Verona in Italy have proven the fact that espresso components have an effect on specific tau proteins, which are considered to be a factor in the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Tau-proteins accumulate in the body and form a kind of threads called fibrils. These, in turn, can intertwine to form large tangles that interfere with brain function.

A reliable way to limit the activity of tau-proteins has not yet been invented, but there are dozens of different options. Italian scientists went their own way and tested the effect on the fibrils of espresso components such as caffeine, trigonelline, genistein and theobromine. It turned out that genistein, and caffeine in particular, binds very well to fibrils and interferes with their activity.

More interestingly, caffeine can act as a marker for the presence of fibrils, and with them dangerous tau proteins. Thanks to this it is possible to monitor the concentration of caffeine in the nervous system and determine where to expect the activity of tau-proteins. However, so far these are only the results of experiments with cell mass in the laboratory, and it is not known whether the effect will persist in living people.

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