Potential anti-dementia agents in traditional Chinese medicine.

Dementia is becoming one of the biggest threats to human health. However, there is no efficient therapeutic approach so far. Thus, traditional medicines, which have accumulated certain experience in the treatment of dementia, are attracting more and more attention. Indeed, many anti-dementia drugs or drug candidates have been derived from these medicines. In this article, the profile of anti-dementia agents contained in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is described. It is indicated that TCM is not only a rich source of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, but also of great potential to derive other kinds of anti-dementia agents which are either directly associated with ameliorating dementia or have complementary effects. These agents have apparent implications for anti-dementia drug discovery, especially for finding multicomponent anti-dementia drugs.