A Yonsei University research team said Wednesday that Helixmith's botanic compound, Cheonma extract (HX106), can inhibit the aggregation of toxic proteins, a significant cause of Alzheimer's disease.

Helixmith has developed a botanic compound product, HX106, and proved its efficacy in improving memory through human trials after undergoing basic studies. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety approved HX106 as an individual certified material in 2015.

In the underlying study, HX106 not only improved memory but also showed its efficacy on the animal model of Alzheimer's disease, but the mechanism was not clear. The research team, led by Professor Kim Young-soo at Yonsei University College of Pharmacy, revealed its mechanism through the study.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. It is a degenerative brain ailment, in which cognitive function gradually deteriorates. The leading cause of the disease is the neurotoxicity made by the aggregation of amyloid-beta and tau proteins in the brain.

In this paper, the researchers demonstrated that HX106 could inhibit the aggregation of amyloid-beta and tau proteins. The study also revealed that four of the 14 components of HX106 inhibit the aggregation of the amyloid-beta protein, suggesting a meaningful direction for the development of Alzheimer's disease treatment.

HX106 has been verified to improve working memory, and clinical trials have shown that it increases the attention-enhancing effect of methylphenidate, an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder treatment, when they are used together.

“Given all the results, HX106 has the potential for improving memory, attention, and further preventing and treating Alzheimer's disease. We will develop various brain health products by using HX106 as a platform,” Helixmith CEO Kim Sun-young said.

The study, titled “Investigation of the memory-enhancing botanical mixture and their isolated compounds for inhibition of amyloid-β and tau aggregation,” was published on the latest issue of Applied Biological Chemistry.

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