Heteromeles Arbutifolia, a Traditional Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease, Phytochemistry and Safety

Xiaogang Wang¹, Raphael Dubois², Caitlyn Young³, Eric J Lien⁴, James D Adams⁵

Affiliations

¹ Tongji School of Pharmacy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, Hubei, China. wxg0122@163.com.
² Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90899-9121, USA. rd_820@usc.edu.
³ Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90899-9121, USA. caitlyny@usc.edu.
⁴ Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90899-9121, USA. elien@usc.edu.
⁵ Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90899-9121, USA. jadams@usc.edu.

PMID: 28930127
PMCID: PMC5456246
DOI: 10.3390/medicines3030017

Heteromeles Arbutifolia, a Traditional Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease, Phytochemistry and Safety

Xiaogang Wang et al. Medicines (Basel). 2016.

. 2016 Jul 7;3(3):17.

doi: 10.3390/medicines3030017.

Authors

Xiaogang Wang¹, Raphael Dubois², Caitlyn Young³, Eric J Lien⁴, James D Adams⁵

Affiliations

¹ Tongji School of Pharmacy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, Hubei, China. wxg0122@163.com.
² Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90899-9121, USA. rd_820@usc.edu.
³ Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90899-9121, USA. caitlyny@usc.edu.
⁴ Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90899-9121, USA. elien@usc.edu.
⁵ Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90899-9121, USA. jadams@usc.edu.

PMID: 28930127
PMCID: PMC5456246
DOI: 10.3390/medicines3030017

Abstract

Background: This study examined the chemistry and safety of Heteromeles arbutifolia, also called toyon or California holly, which is a traditional California Indian food and treatment for Alzheimer's disease. Methods: Plant extracts were examined by HPLC/MS, NMR and other techniques to identify compounds. Volunteers were recruited to examine the acute safety of the plant medicine using a standard short-term memory test. Results: The plant was found to contain icariside E4, dihydroxyoleanenoic acid, maslinic acid, betulin, trihydroxyoxo-seco-ursdienoic acid, catechin, vicenin-2, farrerol, kaempferide and tetrahydroxyoleanenoic acid. These compounds are anti-inflammatory agents that may protect the blood-brain barrier and prevent inflammatory cell infiltration into the brain. The dried berries were ingested by six volunteers to demonstrate the safety of the medicine. Conclusion: The plant medicine was found to contain several compounds that may be of interest in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The plant medicine was found to be safe.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; California holly; Heteromeles arbutifolia; phytochemistry; safety; toyon.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Heteromeles Arbutifolia, a Traditional Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease, Phytochemistry and Safety

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Heteromeles Arbutifolia, a Traditional Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease, Phytochemistry and Safety

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Abstract

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