Cymbidium flower bud helps to treat schizophrenia

According to statistics from the World Health Organization, schizophrenia affects the health of about 21 million people around the world A new study published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that broccoli extract can help treat schizophrenia Dr Akira sawa, a professor at Johns Hopkins University School of medicine, and his team conducted a control study on 81 schizophrenics and 91 healthy people The average age of the participants was 22 years old, 58% of them were male The researchers analyzed the MRI data of the brain of the subjects and found that compared with the healthy subjects, the level of glutamate in the anterior cingulate cortex, which is responsible for emotion regulation, was 14% lower in the schizophrenic brain, and the chemical glutathione in the thalamus was 8% lower These chemicals play an important role in information transmission between brain cells and are closely related to mental diseases In the experiment, researchers used sulforaphane, a chemical found in broccoli flower buds, to activate a gene in the brain that produces glutathione on its own Two 100 micromol Cymbidium flower bud extracts were taken daily for 7 days The results showed an average increase of 30% in glutathione levels in their brains Dr Sava concluded that broccoli bud extract can help the brain restore chemical balance and improve the symptoms of schizophrenia.