An approach to identify potential medicinal plants for treating Alzheimer disease: a case study with acetylcholinesterase.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurological disorder affecting an estimated 10 million people worldwide. There is no cure for AD, and only a handful of drugs are known to provide some relief of the symptoms. The prescription drug donepezil has been widely used to treat to slow the progression and onset of the disease; however, the unpleasant side effects have paved the way to find alternative medicines.