Landmark ‘Scientific Reports’ Paper Details the Discovery of a Specific Amazonian Rain Forest Plant Extract PTI-00703 Cat’s Claw as a Potent Inhibitor and Reducer of Brain Plaques and Tangles

EDMONDS, Wash., Feb 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Scientific Reports published a landmark and detailed research paper this week entitled, “The Amazon rain forest plant Uncaria tomentosa (cat’s claw) and its specific proanthocyanidin constituents are potent inhibitors and reducers of both brain plaques and tangles.” This research, spanning over a ten-year period, was led by renowned brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease researcher Dr. Alan Snow and a host of notable colleagues from eight different institutions. The paper has immediate implications for a natural alternative solution for the support of normal brain aging.

The manuscript pertains to the identification of a natural plant extract known as PTI-00703 cat’s claw discovered to be a potent inhibitor and reducer of both brain plaques and tangles. A wide variety of different in vitro screening methods and brain plaque-producing transgenic mice were used. Reduction of brain plaque-load in plaque-producing transgenic mice correlated directly with marked improvements in short-term memory. The research also utilized sophisticated structural elucidation studies to identify specific polyphenolic components present in PTI-00703 cat’s claw extract responsible for the inherent natural plaque and tangle inhibitory and reducing activity.

Dr. Alan Snow, lead author of this paper states: “I have been working in the drug development field for brain aging for over 30 years and have never seen a more potent inhibitor of both plaques and tangles than the natural plant-based PTI-00703 cat’s claw that we discovered.”

This paper is available by Open Online Access at the following URL:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-38645-0

The main manuscript consists of 28 pages and 15 figures. The supplemental information contains all the structure elucidation studies used to identify the main polyphenols responsible for the potent plaque and tangle inhibitory and reducing activity.

Paper Insights:

• A specific Amazonian rain forest plant extract, known as PTI-00703 cat’s claw (Uncaria tomentosa) has been identified as a potential alternative natural solution to inhibit and reduce both brain plaques and tangles
• Brain aging includes the accumulation of beta-amyloid protein containing plaques and tau protein containing tangles that have been shown in numerous peer-reviewed publications to contribute to accelerated memory loss and cognitive decline
• PTI-00703 cat’s claw from the Amazon rain forest is extracted using a specific proprietary methodology resulting in the most robust form of cat’s claw to effectively target brain plaque and tangle accumulation
• PTI-00703 cat’s claw is obtained from Uncaria tomentosa (one of 34 species of cat’s claw) and represents the bark powder from the Amazon woody vine that grows up to 100 feet in length. The woody vine regrows after it is harvested thereby replenishing the source of this important plant
• PTI-00703 cat’s claw demonstrated both the ability to inhibit formation and reduce/dissolve beta-amyloid protein plaque fibrils and tau protein tangles. The dissolution in most cases occurred instantly
• The main constituents of PTI-00703 cat’s claw were shown to enter the brain within 2 minutes of being in the blood
• A major polyphenol ingredient in PTI-00703 cat’s claw (known as proanthocyanidin B2) reduced brain plaques in older transgenic mice by ~52-58% and in younger transgenic mice by ~74-83% over a 3-month period
• Reduction of brain plaques in transgenic mice over this 3-month period also led to a marked ~58% improvement in short-term memory
• The constituents in PTI-00703 cat’s claw discovered to be responsible for the plaque and tangle inhibitory activity include specific polyphenols, known as proanthocyanidins. Proanthocyanidins are found in teas, red wine, grape seed extract, blueberries, cranberries, black berries, black currant, strawberries and cocoa beans
• The mechanism of action elucidated in our paper includes PTI-00703 cat’s claw main ingredients entering the brain rapidly; directly binding with beta-amyloid protein fibrils (in plaques) and tau protein twisting-filaments (in tangles). Studies also indicated that the major polyphenol ingredients in PTI-00703 cat’s claw serve as a small wedge to unzip and unravel insoluble plaque fibrils and tau tangles, causing them to fall apart. The non-toxic resulting debris is then believed to be cleaned up by the scavenger cells of the brain (i.e. microglia) resulting in less plaques and tangles, thereby improving memory.

Future human clinical trials are needed to validate and confirm the results obtained from the various in vitro and in vivo studies reported in the present investigation

About Dr. Alan Snow - Principle Investigator and Lead Author

Dr. Alan Snow is one of the world’s most renowned brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease authorities. He is former Research Associate Professor of Pathology at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he was an Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center project team leader for over 10 years. Dr. Snow has published extensively about brain plaques and tangles and was the first to discover the presence of heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) in Alzheimer’s disease and prion diseases, and has shown HSPGs to have an important role in the initiation of Alzheimer’s disease and a host of other amyloid disorders. He is an inventor on 340 issued patents, a recipient of a LEAPS award from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Disease Research, and a recipient of 18 National Institute of Health grant awards including grants to identify new plaque and tangle inhibitors. Dr. Snow has been studying brain aging, memory loss, and brain plaques and tangles for over 30 years and presently serves as founder and CEO of Edmonds, Washington-based Cognitive Clarity Inc.

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SOURCE Cognitive Clarity Inc.