Orcein Dye May Combat Alzheimer’s Disease, According To Study

Orcein

A red dye extracted from lichens, that has been used for hundreds of years to color food and clothing, appears to reduce the number of small toxic protein aggregates that can be found in patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. The dye, named orcein and a close related compound named O4, attach preferentially to small protein aggregates that are considered to be responsible for Alzheimer’s disease.

The remarkable thing is that, the O4 binding to protein aggregates leads to the formation of mature plaques, which researchers consider to be non-toxic for neurons. On the other hand further testing on animal models is needed in order to confirm Dr. Jan Bieschke, Dr. Martin Herbst and Professor Erich Wanker theory and determine whether these molecules could be useful for developing new treatment options for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

The main cause of Alzheimer’s disease is considered to be protein misfolding. Protein misfolding is a process which takes place in several phases  that determines proteins to build up creating very large intracellular plaques. Scientists think that small protein aggregates represent the building foundation for mature plaques that are toxic to neurons leading to their death.

The natural dye named orcein is extracted from lichens (group of organisms, resulting from the permanent cohabitation between a fungus and an alga) that grow on the Canary Islands. Natural dyes have been used for hundreds of years for coloring different kinds of fabrics and food.

Orcein Red Dye

Professor Wanker started eight years ago to screen hundreds of natural compounds to find drug molecule candidates that he could use to develop new treatments for neurodegenerative disorders. Among many candidates, he isolated orcein, a natural dye that is composed of fourteen small molecules. As these fourteen molecules can have various biological effects, Professor Wanker started to search for pure substances that have similar effects. A blue dye name O4 very much like orcein was then isolated that was proved to encourage the formation of large protein plaques that are non-toxic to neurons.

Until now researches found that stopping the formation of small toxic protein assemblies is very difficult to achieve. But if Professor Wanker is right, and small aggregates are indeed precursors of plaque formation, O4 could be regarded as a new attack mechanism against Alzheimer’s disease.

However, it is yet unclear whether O4 can be effective in reducing the amounts of misfolded proteins therefore effective in symptoms relief in human models suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.