RESEARCHERS in the region have proved that eating sage can improve memory.
However, eating an extra portion of sage-and-onion stuffing with Sunday lunch will not have any significant effect.
The results of tests on volunteers carried out by the universities of Newcastle and Northumbria found that those who took sage oil capsules performed significantly better in word recall tests.
Now, the same team is carrying out similiar research with Alzheimer's disease patients.
The team, from the joint Medicinal Plant Research Centre (MPRC), in Newcastle, tested 44 healthy adults aged between 18 and 37. Some were given capsules containing sage oil and others were given dummy capsules.
Extracts from the plant are now being investigated as a potential treatment for Alz-heimer's after earlier research by the MPRC found that it interferes with an enzyme that breaks down an important chemical messenger in the brain.
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