Aqueous extracts of FBD, a Chinese herb formula composed ofPoria cocos, Atractylodes macrocephala,andAngelica sinensisreverse scopolamine induced memory deficit in ICR mice

Herb formula FBD is composed of fu ling [or poria, or the sclerotium of the fungus of Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf (Polyporaceae)], bai zhu [white atractylodes rhizome, or the rhizome of Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz.(Compositae)], and dang gui [or dong quai, Chinese angelica root, or the root of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels (Umbelliferae)], the three Chinese medicinal plants used traditionally to improve cognitive disorders. The present study aimed to observe the effects of dual doses of aqueous extracts of FBD (200 and 600 mg/kg) administered orally for 6 days on memory deficit induced by scopolamine, 4 mg/kg intraperitoneally (i.p.) in male imprinting control region (ICR) mice. Aqueous extracts of FBD markedly ameliorated scopolamine induced memory deficit in passive step-through avoidance test and passage water maze test, significantly inhibited acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in cortex and hippocampus, and circulating butyrylcholinesterase activity. Moreover, cortical AChE activity in vitro was suppressed in a dose-dependent manner by aqueous extracts of FBD at 50–200 μg crude herb/mL, in which dang gui extract exerted a stronger anti-AChE activity than that of fu ling or bai zhu. In contrast, no acute toxicity was observed within 14 days, after administration with FBD extracts at the maximal tolerable dose of 69 g/kg. These results suggested that FBD might be a potential and safe herbal agent for Alzheimer’s disease, and its nootropic action was mediated, in part, via enhancing the cholinergic nervous system.