A 2004 study of Maher’s revealed that as a flavonoid, fisetin protects nerve cells from oxidative stress by “multiple mechanisms.” The upshot was that, among several flavonoids, fisetin was most effective at causing new brain growth.
Another involving scientists from Salk as well as from Australia, Germany and Austria showed one reason the compound had so many brain-boosting effects was due to its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. (BrainFacts explains that “the brain is the only organ known to have its own security system, a network of blood vessels that allows the entry of essential nutrients while blocking other substances.”
Supplementation with fisetin increases the strength of long-term memory pathways, which may influence memory disorders like Alzheimer’s. It regulates several pathways, such as mitochondrial and antioxidant function, connected with age-related brain decay. Glutathione, a key cellular antioxidant with the ability to protect nerve cells, is increased by a mechanism that activates transcription factors, such as Nrf2.
Fisetin limits the buildup of harmful compounds in your brain like phosphorylated tau, which are implicated in Alzheimer’s. It’s also useful for decreasing inflammation in microglia, immune cells that can exert neurotoxic effects and which are often activated in neurogenerative disorders.
Fisetin also was found to slow progression of Huntington’s disease, an ultimately fatal neurodegenerative disorder characterized by psychiatric, cognitive and motor symptoms in animal studies by activating the Ras-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) cascade.
