Coadministration of huperzine A and ligustrazine phosphate effectively reverses scopolamine-induced amnesia in rats

In the present study, whether coadministration of huperzine A (HA) and ligustrazine phosphate (LP) could effectively improve the memory deficits in association with ameliorating cholinergic impairment and oxidative stress in the scopolamine-induced amnesia rats was assessed. The effects of treatment with Coa [HA (0.14 mg/kg, i.g.) and LP (110 mg/kg, i.g.)] on amnesia were investigated in Morris water maze. Furthermore, the effects on the activities of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and antioxidant enzymes within the cerebral cortex and hippocampus were evaluated, and the lipid peroxidation product malondialdehyde (MDA) was also analyzed. As a result, coadministration of HA and LP for 10 consecutive days could markedly reverse the scopolamine-induced learning and memory impairment determined by the Morris water maze test. Moreover, AChE activity was significantly inhibited, and superoxide dismutases (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities were significantly increased with a remarkable reduction in the level of MDA. In conclusion, coadministration of HA and LP effectively prevented cholinergic impairment and oxidative damage, thereby resulting in improvement of spatial learning memory in rats induced by scopolamine. The results suggested that coadministration of HA and LP might offer a novel poly-therapeutic drug regimen for preventing Alzheimer's disease (AD).