Development of herbal cure for Alzheimer’s claimed
August 11th, 2008 - 1:46 pm ICT by IANSBy Asit Srivastava
Lucknow, Aug 11 (IANS) India’s National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) here says it has invented a herbal tonic to treat Alzheimer’s disease, which leads to gradual loss of memory in the aged. Encouraged by the satisfactory results when the herbal formulation was tested on rats, the institute has filed for a US patent.
“The herbal formulation will act as a memory enhancer in treating Alzheimer’s,” C.V. Rao, a pharmacology scientist and a member of the team of scientists doing the research at the NBRI, told IANS.
“The scientists are led by Yogendra Kumar Gupta for the research on the herbal product and a process patent application has been filed,” Rao added.
The scientist said the tonic mainly comprises alcoholic extracts of several medicinal plants.
“A range of plants with therapeutic importance like Tinospora Cordifolia (guduchi in Hindi), Centella Asiatica (Indian Pennywort), Withania Somnifera (winter cherry), Mucuna Pruriens (velvet beans), Circuma Longa (turmeric) and others have been used for the formulation,” Rao said.
Chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters, allow brain cells to communicate with each other. But in Alzheimer’s patients, the amounts of neurotransmitters get decreased. As a result, patients develop deposits of protein and fibre - or blood brain barrier - owing to which the cells cannot send the right signals to other parts of the brain.
“Unlike most of the other drugs used to treat brain disorders, this herbal tonic is potent enough to cross the blood brain barrier and activate the transmission of signals from the brain to nerve terminals,” said the scientist.
“Our herbal tonic targets and acts against the deposition in the brain so that normal flow of the transmission of signals from the brain can be revived.”
The herbal tonic can be either used as an emulsion or as a soft gelatin capsule.
According to Rao, studies have shown that one percent of the population aged between 65-74 have severe dementia, increasing to seven percent in those aged between 75-84 and nearly 25 percent of those aged 85 years or above.
The trials of the tonic are at the animal testing stage, and it would take one more phase before the trials can be conducted on humans, officials of the institute added.
- Nicotine could play role in Alzheimer's disease therapy - Oct 14, 2010
- Tobacco-derived compound prevents memory loss in Alzheimer's - Apr 28, 2011
- Forgetting to eat can thin out Alzheimer's victims - Nov 22, 2011
- 'Gluttony gene' forces you to gobble non-stop - Mar 19, 2012
- Scientists develop technique for early detection of Alzheimer's disease - Apr 23, 2011
- Now herbal tablets to help quit smoking - Jul 12, 2008
- Why Alzheimer's drug is both safe and effective - Aug 19, 2010
- Sleep problems and Alzheimer's disease linked? - Feb 17, 2012
- Binge-drinking teens risk lasting brain changes - Apr 05, 2011
- New study sheds light on brain's inherent ability to focus on learning - Dec 09, 2010
- New finding may shed light on drug abuse and depression - Apr 25, 2011
- Drug may help preserve brain function following cardiac arrest - Mar 02, 2011
- Scientists identify how brain cells keep us awake - Nov 07, 2011
- Temporary changes in brain speed up learning - Apr 14, 2011
- Boosting key brain chemical cuts fatigue in mice - Dec 21, 2010
Tags: alcoholic extracts, blood brain barrier, botanical research institute, brain cells, brain disorders, centella asiatica, chemical messengers, guduchi, herbal formulation, herbal tonic, indian pennywort, loss of memory, memory enhancer, mucuna pruriens, nbri, nerve terminals, patent application, soft gelatin capsule, winter cherry, withania somnifera