Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and complex neurodegenerative disease with no effective and safe disease-modifying treatment and only symptomatic medical interventions available. Researchers led by Prof. PEI Gang from Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology (SIBCB), Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences of Chinese Academy of Sciences, found that Smart Soup, a traditional Chinese medicine formula, ameliorates Alzheimer’s disease and is a practical therapeutic strategy against the disease. 

Current FDA(Food and Drug Administration)-approved Alzheimer’s drugs are only symptomatic interventions. Up till now, no disease modifying medications that targeting either the production or clearance of the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide, or modulation of the abnormal aggregation of tau filaments have been approved. Similar to other complex diseases, a successful therapy against AD might eventually involve a “cocktail” of medications aiming at several targets systematically and synergistically.

Under the guidance of Prof. PEI Gang and Dr. ZHAO Jian, graduate students HOU Yujun et al assessed the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) against AD. The formulae of TCM dates back thousands of years and has been well documented in various Chinese ancient literatures as prescriptions for specific ailments. According to the major precepts of TCM, these TCM formulae emphasize not only the symptoms but on restoring and maintaining the body homeostasis, which is very similar to the rationale of modern multi-targeted therapeutics.   

Smart Soup, a three-herb formula, officially documented in Gu Jin Yi Jian, a book published in 1576 and is composed of Rhizoma Acori Tatarinowii (AT), Poria cum Radix Pini (PRP) and Radix Polygalae (RP), each of which is frequently used in different TCM formulae for their pharmacological efficacies against cognitive problems. The researchers found that oral administration of Smart Soup ameliorated the cognitive impairment of AD transgenic mice. One of the hallmark pathologic characteristics of AD is deposition of Aβ. Smart Soup treatment reduced Aβ levels, Aβ amyloidosis as well as related gliosis and neuronal loss in AD mice brains. Consistently, Smart Soup treatment reduced amyloid-related locomotor dysfunctions and premature death of AD transgenic Drosophila. Furthermore, mechanistic studies showed that RP reduced Aβ generation, whereas AT and PRP exerted neuroprotective effects against Aβ. 

These results indicate that Smart Soup could be a systematic therapeutic strategy against AD. 

This work entitled “Smart Soup, a traditional Chinese medicine formula, ameliorates amyloid pathology and the related cognitive deficits” was published in PLoS ONE on November 11th, 2014.    

This study was done in collaboration with Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (SIMM) and Ruijin Hospital. It was funded by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Science and Technology Support Program, the Ministry of Science and Technology and Shanghai Municipal Commission for Science and Technology.  

Figure: Smart Soup ameliorates learning and memory impairment of AD transgenic mice in behavior assay. (Image by Prof. PEI Gang’s group)