Anticholinesterase and Antioxidant Potentials of a Medicinal Plant Abroma augusta: Implications for the Alternative Treatment Therapy of Cognitive Deficits in Alzheimers disease

Oxidative stress and low level of neurotransmitter (especially acetylcholine) are main characteristics of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a progressive neurodegenerative disease. Prolonging the function of acetylcholine by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase or butyrylcholinesterase enzyme and reducing oxidative stress with antioxidants are most effective treatment therapy of AD. Abroma augusta is a well-known medicine plant with a variety of medicinal uses. In this study we examine cholinesterase inhibitory activity as well as antioxidant activity of dried fruit extract including crude methyl extract and its sub fractions (Chloroform fraction, Petroleum ether fraction, Ethyl acetate fraction and aqueous fraction) of A. augusta. Both cholinergic inhibitory activity and antioxidant activity of various fractions suggested that, ethyl acetate fraction are most prominent among all fractions and can be used in symptomatic treatment of AD.