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Could Eating Garlic Reduce Aging-Related Memory Problems?

New study finds that garlic protects memory by improving gut health


“Our findings suggest that dietary administration of garlic containing allyl sulfide could help maintain healthy gut microorganisms and improve cognitive health in the elderly,” says Jyotirmaya Behera, PhD, who lead the research team with Neetu Tyagi, PhD, both from the University of Louisville.

Behera presented the research at the American Physiological Society’s annual meeting during the 2019 Experimental Biology meeting held April 6-9 in Orlando, Florida.

The gut contains trillions of microorganisms collectively referred to as the gut microbiota. Although many studies have shown the importance of these microorganisms in maintaining human health, less is known about health effects linked to gut microbiota changes that come with age.

“The diversity of the gut microbiota is diminished in elderly people, a life stage when neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's develop and memory and cognitive abilities can decline,” Tyagi says. “We want to better understand how changes in the gut microbiota relate to aging-associated cognitive decline.”


The researchers observed that the older mice receiving the garlic compound showed better long- and short-term memory and healthier gut bacteria than the older mice that didn’t receive the treatment. Spatial memory was also impaired in the 24-month-old mice not receiving allyl sulfide.


The researchers found that mice receiving the garlic compound exhibited higher levels of NDNF gene expression. In addition, recombinant-NDNF protein therapy in the brain restored the cognitive abilities of the older mice that did not receive the garlic compound. The researchers also found that oral allyl sulfide administration produces hydrogen sulfide gas—a messenger molecule that prevents intestinal inflammation—in the gut lumen.

Overall, the new findings suggest that dietary allyl sulfide promotes memory consolidation by restoring gut bacteria. The researchers are continuing to conduct experiments aimed at better understanding the relationship between the gut microbiota and cognitive decline and are examining how garlic might be used as a treatment in the aging human population.

Source: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology