Study published in the Journal of Neuroscience by a group of scientists from the Charit Universittsmedizin Berlin, indicated that a compound resveratrol, found in red wine and dark chocolate boosted cognitive functions and memory.

The pilot research, conducted on overweight adults, elaborated that people who took the supplement also had more connections among brain areas involved in memory and has anti-aging affects. The study was the first of its kind to demonstrate a link between red wine and cognition.

Ms Veronica Witte, a neuroscientist, Charit Universittsmedizin, said that their findings indicated that regular, high-level intake of resveratrol in the elderly may convey protective effects on cognitive functions, a hypothesis which now needs to be evaluated in large-scale clinical trials.

Resveratrol is also found in red grapes, peanuts, blueberries and Japanese knotweed. Ms Witte and her colleagues tested 46 healthy participants, half of the volunteers were randomly assigned to take 200 milligrams of resveratrol daily for six months, while the other half received a placebo.

The participants had undergone blood tests, memory examinations, before and after the study and the effects of the compound were clearly noticed in patients who received resveratrol.

Brain scans showed more communication within the hippocampus, a memory-related brain region, and the blood tests showed reduced levels of blood sugar marker, in the people who took resveratrol.