Eating too much salt is known to raise blood pressure, but a new mouse study from Fujita Health University adds to evidence that it may also harm the brain. Researchers found that mice fed a high-salt diet developed hypertension, showed poorer object recognition memory, and became less socially interactive. Supplementing their diet with LPC70, a soy-derived compound, helped lower blood pressure and improved both memory and social behavior.
The study also examined how LPC70 works. In the kidneys, a high-salt diet increased levels of COX-2 and the EP3 receptor, components thought to contribute to salt-related hypertension, and LPC70 reduced those increases. In the prefrontal cortex, a brain region important for memory and social behavior, a high-salt diet reduced the protective DP1 receptor. LPC70 restored DP1 expression without changing the potentially harmful DP2 receptor, suggesting the compound may selectively support protective signaling in the brain.
The findings, published in Neurochemistry International, come from a collaborative project with Tsuji Oil Mills, a company that develops naturally derived food ingredients. Because the study was in mice, the results are not direct proof of benefit in humans, but they point to a promising avenue for future research on dietary compounds that might counter the neurological effects of excess salt.