Abstract

Recent evidence has indicated that a group of plant-derived compounds known as flavonoids may exert particularly powerful actions on mammalian cognition and may reverse age-related declines in memory and learning. Although, these low molecular weight polyphenols are absorbed to only a limited degree, they have been found to counteract age-related cognitive declines possibly via their ability to interact with the cellular and molecular architectureof the brain responsible for memory. Such interactions include an ability to activate signalling pathways, critical in controlling synaptic plasticity and to induce vascular effects potentially capable of causing new nerve cell growth in thehippocampus. Altogether, these processes are known to be important in maintaining optimal neuronal function and neuro-cognitive performances.