Scientists have discovered a product that promotes brain and heart health

Recent studies have shown that quercetin, which is found in pickled capers, can help keep the heart and brain healthy.

It regulates the activity of proteins necessary for basic bodily functions, including thinking, heartbeat, muscle contractions, and pancreatic function, according to eatthis.com.

This discovery was made by scientists at the University of California. The substance found in capers modulates potassium ion channels in the so-called KCNQ gene family, which have a huge impact on health. If there is any dysfunction in them, it can lead to the development of diabetes, heart arrhythmias, or even epilepsy.

"Now that we understand how quercetin controls KCNQ channels, future medicinal chemistry research can continue to create and optimize small molecules related to it, as well as potentially use them as therapeutic drugs," says Jeffrey Abbott, PhD, a physicist at UCLA.

How did Abbott and his team make this discovery?

They screened plant extracts in the laboratory and found that only one percent of an extract derived from pickled capers was sufficient to activate KCNQ. Quercetin binds to a specific region of the channel responsible for responding to electrical activity.

Its action is similar to that of synthetic drugs for the treatment of epilepsy or the prevention of heart rhythm disorders. It is also currently being studied as a remedy for gastrointestinal diseases, diabetes, and cancer.