Eating turkey could help protect against developing multiple sclerosis, experts today revealed.

The discovery came as scientists investigated the link between the bacteria living in the gut and the activity of cells in the brain.

The theory is that bacteria in the gut is involved in controlling inflammation and neuro-degeneration.

Scientists at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston analysed samples from MS patients.

They found evidence that changes in diet and gut microbiota could influence the astrocytes - cells in the nervous system found in the brain.

A new study found high levels of the amino acid, tryptophan, found in abundance in turkey, is linked to lower levels of inflammation that causes neuro-degeneration

That influence, they believe, can lead to the neuro-degeneration characteristic of MS.

Specifically, the influence is linked to the amino acid tryptophan, which is found in abundance in turkey.

Put simply, the higher the level of tryptophan in a person's system, the less likely it is that inflammation will occur.

The discovery, experts hope, will lead to new therapies to treat MS, for which there is currently no cure.

Dr Francisco Quintana, an author of the study, said: 'For the first time, we've been able to identify that food has some sort of remote control over central nervous system inflammation.

'What we eat influences the ability of bacteria in our gut to produce small molecules, some of which are capable of traveling all the way to the brain.

In blood samples from MS patients, the team found decreased levels of the tryptophan-derived molecules that limit inflammation

'This opens up an area that's largely been unknown until now: how the gut controls brain inflammation.'

Previous studies have suggested a connection between the gut microbiome and brain inflammation.

But, how the two are linked and how diet and microbial products influence this connection has remained largely unknown.

To explore the connection further, Dr Quintana and his team performed genome-wide transcriptional analyses on astrocytes - star shaped cells that reside in the brain and spinal cord - in a mouse model of MS.

By doing so they were able to identify a molecular pathway involved in inflammation.

They found that molecules derived from dietary tryptophan - an amino acid found in turkey and other foods - act on this pathway.

They discovered that when more of these molecules are present, astrocytes were able to limit brain inflammation.

In blood samples from MS patients, the team found decreased levels of these tryptophan-derived molecules.

Dr Quintana said: 'Deficits in the gut floram, deficits in the diet or deficits in the ability to uptake these products from the gut flora or transport them from the gut - any of these may lead to deficits that contribute to disease progression.'

The researchers now plan to investigate this pathway and the role of diet in future studies to determine if the new findings can be translated into targets for therapeutic intervention and biomarkers for diagnosing and detecting the advancement of disease.