Abstract

PLANTS WITH NOOTROPIC ACTIVITY: A REVIEW

Sangeeta Paul*, Balawant Rajawat, Rishu Tiwari

Abstract

Dementia is a set of symptoms arising in brain and is associated with the impairment of learning capacity, memory, thinking, orientation, language and judgment. According to a recent report by Alzheimer‟s and related disorders society of India, over 3.7 million people are affected by dementia and it is expected to double by 2030. Various nootropic drugs like physostigmine, rivastigmine, donepezil, galantamine and tacrine are available in the market for treating dementia but they are associated with side effects like excitement, convulsions, tremors and are required to be used cautiously in peptic ulcer, asthmatic and hypotensive patients. India has a diverse variety of medicinally important plants which have been claimed with beneficial therapeutic effects along with better tolerability in terms of side effects. Many medicinal plants have been claimed to possess learning and memory enhancing activity by different mechanisms like inhibition of AChE, antioxidant effect, induction of neurotrophic factors and cell death mechanisms. Although pre-clinical studies identified promising candidates for dementia, clinical evidences are still need to be studied. This review serve as useful source of information for ready reference for plants with established nootropic activity.

Keywords: nootropic drugs like physostigmine, rivastigmine, donepezil, galantamine and tacrine.