The retina, the eye’s inner membrane, sends visual images to the brain and, thus, it ensures proper vision. Mechanical or chemical processes can cause the degeneration of this tissue, and thus cause blindness.

According to Sang Hoon Jung, Korean Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Seoul, Korea, and co-workers retinal degeneration can be prevented by ethanol extracts of Crepidastrum dentidulatum, a plant widely cultivated in East Asia. The scientists demonstrated that these extracts exert antioxidant and antiapoptotic effects and, thus, protect retinal cells from chemical-induced death. These effects are most likely mediated by the main chemical contained in the extracts, 2,3-dicaffeoyltartaric acid.

Ethanol extracts of Crepidastrum dentidulatum may thus used to prevent retinal degeneration processes that occur in different pathological conditions.

• Hydroxycinnamic Acids in Crepidiastrum denticulatum Protect Oxidative Stress-Induced Retinal Damage,
  Hong Ryul Ahn, Hee Ju Lee, Kyung-A Kim, Chul Young Kim, Chu Won Nho, Holim Jang, Cheol-Ho Pan, Chang Yong Lee, Sang Hoon Jung,
  J. Agric. Food Chem. 2014, 62, 1310–1323.
  DOI: 10.1021/jf4046232