A team led by Jyotish Kumar (ideal), a doctoral trainee in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UTEP, and supervised by Mahesh Narayan, Ph.D. (2nd from left), a teacher and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in the very same department, discovered that caffeic-acid based Carbon Quantum Dots (CACQDs), which can be obtained from spent coffee premises, have the potential to protect brain cells from the damage triggered by several neurodegenerative diseases.” Caffeic-acid based Carbon Quantum Dots have the possible to be transformative in the treatment of neurodegenerative conditions,” Kumar said. “This is because none of the current treatments deal with the diseases; they only assist manage the symptoms. Any existing treatments that can attend to sophisticated signs of neurodegenerative disease are simply beyond the methods of many people. In their lab, the group “cooks” samples of coffee grounds at 200 degrees for four hours to reorient the caffeic acids carbon structure and form CACQDs.
Coffee Grounds to Treat Neurodegenerative Diseases
A group led by Jyotish Kumar, a doctoral trainee in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and supervised by Mahesh Narayan, Ph.D., a professor and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in the very same department, discovered that caffeic-acid-based Carbon Quantum Dots (CACQDs), which can be derived from spent coffee premises, have the potential to protect brain cells from the damage triggered by numerous neurodegenerative illness– if the condition is set off by factors such as age, direct exposure and weight problems to pesticides and other toxic environmental chemicals. Their work is explained in a paper published in the November concern of the journal Environmental Research.
A team led by Jyotish Kumar (right), a doctoral trainee in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UTEP, and managed by Mahesh Narayan, Ph.D. (2nd from left), a professor and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in the same department, discovered that caffeic-acid based Carbon Quantum Dots (CACQDs), which can be obtained from spent coffee premises, have the possible to protect brain cells from the damage caused by a number of neurodegenerative diseases. The team consists of Afroz Karim (left), a doctoral student in the Department of Chemistry; and Ummy Habiba Sweety (2nd from right), a doctoral student in the Environmental Science and Engineering program. Credit: The University of Texas at El Paso
” Caffeic-acid based Carbon Quantum Dots have the possible to be transformative in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders,” Kumar said. “This is since none of the present treatments fix the illness; they only help manage the signs. Our goal is to discover a remedy by dealing with the molecular and atomic underpinnings that drive these conditions.”
Neurodegenerative Diseases and Their Early Stages
Neurodegenerative illness are mainly characterized by the loss of neurons or brain cells. They hinder an individuals capability to carry out basic functions such as motion and speech, as well as more complex jobs consisting of bladder and bowel functions, and cognitive capabilities.
The conditions, when they are in their early stages and are triggered by lifestyle or environmental elements, share several characteristics. These consist of raised levels of complimentary radicals– damaging molecules that are known to add to other illness such as cancer, heart disease, and vision loss– in the brain, and the aggregation of fragments of amyloid-forming proteins that can lead to plaques or fibrils in the brain.
Kumar and his colleagues discovered that CACQDs were neuroprotective across test tube experiments, cell lines, and other models of Parkinsons illness when the condition was brought on by a pesticide called paraquat. The CACQDs, the group observed, had the ability to eliminate totally free radicals or prevent them from triggering damage and prevented the aggregation of amyloid protein fragments without causing any considerable negative effects.
Avoidance and Treatment in Early Disease Stages
The group hypothesizes that in people, in the really early phase of a condition such as Alzheimers or Parkinsons, a treatment based on CACQDs can be reliable in avoiding full-on disease.
” It is vital to attend to these disorders before they reach the clinical phase,” Narayan stated. “At that point, it is likely too late. Any current treatments that can address innovative signs of neurodegenerative disease are just beyond the ways of many people. Our objective is to come up with a service that can prevent most cases of these conditions at an expense that is manageable for as many clients as possible.”
Distinct Properties of Caffeic Acid
Caffeic acid comes from a household of substances called polyphenols, which are plant-based compounds known for their antioxidant, or totally free radical-scavenging homes. Caffeic acid is unique due to the fact that it can penetrate the blood-brain barrier and is therefore able to apply its results upon the cells inside the brain, Narayan said.
The procedure the team utilizes to draw out CACQDs from used coffee grounds is thought about “green chemistry,” which means it is eco-friendly. In their laboratory, the group “cooks” samples of coffee grounds at 200 degrees for four hours to reorient the caffeic acids carbon structure and form CACQDs. The sheer abundance of coffee grounds is what makes the procedure both sustainable and cost-effective, Narayan said.
Ongoing Research and Future Prospects
The research was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health. In addition to Kumar, dozens of graduate and undergraduate UTEP trainees have actually worked on this task with Narayan including Sofia Delgado a former UTEP undergraduate student who is now pursuing her Ph.D. at Yale University.
The scientists will now seek extra financing to support additional testing.
Narayan and Kumar both said they understand the goal is still away. However, for now, they are moving on a journey that may ultimately result in a medication– a tablet, possibly– that might prevent the vast majority of neurodegenerative conditions that are triggered by factors besides genes.
Referral: “Caffeic acid recarbonization: A green chemistry, sustainable carbon nano material platform to intervene in neurodegeneration induced by emerging impurities” by Jyotish Kumar, Sofia A. Delgado, Hemen Sarma and Mahesh Narayan, 19 August 2023, Environmental Research.DOI: 10.1016/ j.envres.2023.116932.
Funding: NIH/National Institutes of Health.
University of Texas at El Paso scientists have actually discovered that compounds extracted from used coffee grounds may use a brand-new method to deal with neurodegenerative diseases. Their research study reveals that these substances, Carbon Quantum Dots, can secure brain cells from damage triggered by illness like Alzheimers and Parkinsons, specifically in their early phases.
A revolutionary study at The University of Texas at El Paso exposes that substances originated from spent coffee grounds might possibly prevent or treat neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimers and Parkinsons by safeguarding brain cells.
Neurodegenerative conditions, consisting of Alzheimers, Parkinsons, and Huntingtons, impact countless individuals in the United States, and the expense of caring for people who deal with these conditions includes up to numerous billions of dollars each year.
Now, researchers from The University of Texas at El Paso might possibly have found a service in used coffee grounds– a material that is disposed of from homes and businesses around the globe every day.