Bouvardia ternifolia has been used medicinally to treat
inflammation. In the present study, we investigate the anti-Alzheimer's potential effect of the hydroalcoholic extract of B. ternifolia through evaluation of anti-inflammatory and
antioxidant activities, quantification of the percentage inhibition of
acetylcholinesterase activity, protection effect against β-
amyloid fibrillar-induce neurotoxicity, and the identification of the main constituents. Our results show that B. ternifolia extract and
ethyl acetate fraction induced anti-inflammatory effects by reducing
inflammation by >70 %, while
antioxidant test revealed significant IC50 values for
flavonoid content fraction (30.67 ± 2.09 μg/ml) and
ethyl acetate fraction (42.66 ± 0.93 μg/ml). The maximum inhibition of
acetylcholinesterase was exhibited by
scopoletin content fraction (38.43 ± 3.94 %), while
ethyl acetate fraction exerted
neuroprotective effect against β-
amyloid peptide (83.97 ± 5.03 %).
Phytochemical analysis, showed the presence of 3-O-quercetin glucopyranoside (415 mg/g),
rutin (229.9 mg/g), ursolic and
oleanolic acid (54 and 20.8 mg/g respectively), 3-O-quercetin rhamnopyranoside (12.8 mg/g),
chlorogenic acid (9.5 mg/g), and
scopoletin (1.38 mg/g). Our findings support the use of B. ternifolia since the extract induced significant neuroprotection against β-
amyloid peptide, anti-inflammatory,
antioxidant and anti-
acetylcholinesterase effects that could be attributed to its contents of
polyphenols,
coumarins, and
triterpenes, and encourage further studies for development of this extract as therapeutic agent in treatment of
Alzheimer's disease.