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. 2016 Jul 7;3(3):17.
doi: 10.3390/medicines3030017.

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

Xiaogang Wang  1 , Raphael Dubois  2 , Caitlyn Young  3 , Eric J Lien  4 , James D Adams  5
Affiliations

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

Xiaogang Wang et al. Medicines (Basel). .

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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