Scientists prove that cashew shell compound can be a cure for multiple sclerosis

A chemical compound called anacardic acid, found in cashew nut shells, helps restore myelin, according to scientists from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee.

Myelin is a protective sheath that surrounds nerves. Damage to this coating – demyelination – is a symptom of multiple sclerosis and related diseases of the central nervous system.

In their previous work, the scientists showed that myelin formation was induced by a protein called interleukin 33 or IL-33. Among other things, it is a regulator of the immune response, and multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease.

Anacardic acid, a compound found in cashew nut shells, is interesting because it inhibits an enzyme involved in gene expression called histone acetyltransferase, and anything that inhibits this enzyme triggers the production of IL-33. In other words, anacardic acid may be a promising treatment for the devastating effects of multiple sclerosis and other demyelinating diseases.

During laboratory experiments, scientists found: