Screening for acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of methanolic extract of Cassia fistula roots

Abstract

Inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), the key enzyme in the breakdown of acetylcholine, is considered as a promising strategy for the treatment of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, senile dementia, ataxia and myasthenia gravis. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of memory impairment and dementia in the elderly. AD is pathologically characterized by extracellular deposits of beta-amyloid (Aβ) peptide, neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) composed of hyperphosphorylated tau, neuronal loss, and neurotransmitter dysfunction. Clinically, AD is characterized by progressive cognitive decline that usually starts with memory impairment and progresses to cause a more generalized cognitive dysfunction, behavioral dysregulation, and neuropsychiatric symptoms.  A potential source of AChE inhibitors is certainly provided by the abundance of plants in nature. A treatment to the Alzheimer’s disease consists of inhibition of the acetylcholinesterase, which is responsible for the acetylcholine control in the synapses. A microplate assay and a thin-layer chromatography (TLC) “in situ” assay based on the Ellman assay was used to screen for acetylcholinesterase inhibitors from ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of Cassia Fistula roots of family leguminosae.