Huperzine A is an alkaloid found in the Chinese herb Huperzia Serrata. It is extracted from the moss Huperzia serrata. It is effective for improving cognitive and memory abilities, including those with Alzheimer's disease. In China, where Huperzine A is used for treating Alzheimer's and myasthenia gravis. In the United States, it is being tested in clinical trials for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and age-related cognitive decline (ARCD)— a term which covers variety memory loss problems.

Researchers believe Huperzine works by protecting a key neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is released at the synapse (gap) between two nerve cells and stimulates the impulse from one brain cell to the next. An enzyme called acetylcholine esterase (AchE) then destroys the acetylcholine and terminates the nerve signal (after it’s been transmitted). Scientists believe that in some memory disorders the acetylcholine is destroyed too soon, and the nerve impulse is too weak to be received—an undesirable effect that may also play a role in normal, age-related memory deficits.

Studies show Huperzine inhibits AchE, the enzyme that destroys acetylcholine, and thereby strengthens or lengthens the duration of the nerve impulse. This alone could make the difference between vaguely remembering something and clear recollection.

In China, two double blind clinical studies demonstrated that Huperzine A is both safe and effective for long-term treatment of Alzheimer’s dementia. In a double-blind trial with a group of 56 patients suffering from senile dementia as well as a group of 104 patients with senile and pre-senile memory loss, Huperzine A was demonstrated to be effective for improving memory.

Huperzine A has been proven superior to drugs licensed for the treatment of Alzheimer’s, including the leading anticholinesterase drugs physostigmine and tacrine. Huperzine A improved learning and memory in mice better than tacrine. Unlike physostigmine and tacrine, Huperzine A acts specifically on AchE in the brain rather than AchE found elsewhere in the body—i.e., far less is wasted on irrelevant effects. Unlike physostigmine and tacrine, Huperzine A does not appear to bind to receptors in the central nervous system, which can cause adverse side effects. Its effects last 10 to 12 times longer than physostigmine and tacrine (up to 8 hours).

Huperzine is safe. Huperzine A is not known to be toxic even when administered at 50 to 100 times the human therapeutic dose. Approximately 10,000 people have been treated with the drug with no evidence of toxicity.

YOUNGSTERS ALSO BENEFIT FROM HUPERZINE A

When a nutrient that improves mental function in the aged does the same in the young, that's really interesting. And that is what Chinese researchers found, in a study designed to determine the efficacy of Huperzine A on memory and learning in adolescents. They selected 34 matched pairs of apparently normal junior middle school students whose only significant complaints were of poor memory and difficulty in learning.

In a double-blind trial, one member of each pair, chosen randomly, was given 100 micrograms of Huperzine A twice daily for four weeks, while the other member received the placebo. The students' memory quotients were measured before and after the trial, and their academic performance in their Chinese, English, and mathematics lessons was monitored as well.

Their results: At the end of the study, the Huperzine A group scored significantly better than the control group on standard memory tests described as "accumulation," "recognition," "reproduction," "association," "tactual (tactile) memory," and "number of recitation, but not on tests of "picture memory" or "understanding." They had also done significantly better in their Chinese and English lessons, but not in math. No side effects of any kind were noted.