Memory improving effect of mixed herbal extract, HX106 in Alzheimer's disease model

Although the mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology have not been proved exactly yet, it is well known that aggregation of amyloid-β and abnormalities of cholinergic neurotransmission induce neurotoxicity, which is closely related to memory impairment in the disease. HX106 is a mixed extract of four kinds of herbs which are known to have memory improving effects in traditional oriental medicine. We investigated memory improving effect of HX106 in terms of neuroprotective effect and acetylcholine esterase inhibitory effect. HX106 prevented apoptosis of the HT22, hippocampal neuronal cells induced by high dose of glutamate. We showed that oral administration of HX106 improved the cognitive function in AD rat model induced by amyloid-β i.c.v injection through behavior tests. Moreover, oral administration of HX106 inhibited the activity of acetylcholine esterase in a mouse hippocampus up to 60% compared to non-treated group. We also found that the mice received HX106 recovered the cognitive function in scopolamine (acetylcholine receptor antagonist)-induced short term memory defective model. These results demonstrate that HX106 has a possibility of an effective treatment for AD.