Flowers for Alzheimer’s patients: Several species of iris have been found to protect against the disease

Researchers have discovered a flower that can improve brain performance for patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The results of the study were published in the African Journal of Traditional, Complementary, and Alternative Medicine.

The paper, titled Protective effect of Iris germanica L. in b-amyloid-induced animal model of Alzheimer’s disease, studied the effects of the bearded iris in treating beta-amyloid-induced cases of Alzheimer’s.

Beta-amyloid peptide is a “highly toxic material” which promotes inflammation of the brain tissue. The inflammation will then trigger the activation of microglial cells, which will lead to the development of neurodegenerative disorders such as dementia.