A spice typically used in curries could encourage the brain's ability to heal itself, says new research from the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine in Julich, Germany.

The findings from the new research, published in the journal Stem Cell Research and Therapy, suggest a compound found in tumeric apparently helps stimulate the growth of nerve cells previously discovered as being part of the brain's internal repair kit.

Scientists say the new study, in which rats were administered tumeric, could lead to new drug treatments for conditions including strokes and Alzheimer's disease, according to BBC News.

Researchers injected rats with a tumeric compound and scanned their brains -- where certain areas were seen to be more active after the aromatic-turmerone infusion.

Scientists deduced the compound might encourage a proliferation of brain cells, the BBC News piece said.

Then, in another part of the trial, researchers bathed rodent neural stem cells in different concentrations of aromatic-tumerone extract.

Neural stem cells have the ability to transform into any type of brain cell, therefore scientists have come to believe they play a role in cell regeneration and repair after damage or disease.

However, Dr. Maria Adele Rueger, part of the research team, observed that "In humans and higher developed animals, their abilities do not seem to be sufficient to repair the brain but in fish and smaller animals they seem to work well," she said in the BBC News story.

Regardless, she said, it's "interesting that it might be possible to boost the effectiveness of the stem cells with aromatic-turmerone ... and it is possible this in turn can help boost repair in the brain."

The results of the study still leave questions about whether the results of this research would translate to people, or whether the ability to generate new brain cells in this way would benefit people with Alzheimer's disease.

Said Dr. Laura Phipps of the charity, Alzheimer's Research UK:

"We'd need to see further studies to fully understand this compound's effects in the context of a complex disease like Alzheimer's, and until then people shouldn't take this as a sign to stock up on supplies of turmeric for the spice rack."