Home | Alphabetical Index | Conditions & Cures | Anti-Aging | Articles | Forums | Where to Buy

Alzheimer's Supplements
Acetyl-L-carnitine
Ginkgo
Huperzine A
Phosphatidylserine
Vinpocetine

Huperzine A

Proposed Uses: Alzheimer's Disease and Other Forms of Dementia; Ordinary Age-Related Memory Loss

Huperzine A is a potent chemical derived from a type of club moss. Like caffeine and cocaine, huperzine A is a medicinally active, plant-derived chemical that belongs to the class known as alkaloids. This substance is really more a drug than an herb, but it is sold over the counter as a dietary supplement for memory loss and mental impairment.

Studies in animals suggested that it could improve memory skills.  These finding led to human trials and the subsequent marketing of the huperzine A as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease and related conditions. It is also sold as a “brain booster” for enhancing memory and mental function in people without Alzheimer’s disease.

Huperzine A inhibits the enzyme acetylcholinesterase. This enzyme breaks down acetylcholine, a substance that plays an important role in mental function. When the enzyme that breaks it down is inhibited, acetylcholine levels in the brain tend to rise. Drugs that inhibit acetylcholinesterase (such as tacrine and donepezil) improve memory and mental functioning in people with Alzheimer's and other severe conditions. The research on huperzine A indicates that it works in much the same way.

Huperzine may also help protect nerve cells from damage.

Note that, while huperzine A is sold as a dietary supplement, in all essential ways it is simply a typical drug. Huperzine A is highly purified in a laboratory and is just a single chemical. It is simply not much like an herb. Herbs contain hundreds or thousands of chemicals. Huperzine A resembles drugs such as digoxin, codeine, Sudafed, and vincristine, which are also highly purified chemicals taken from plants.

Dosage
Huperzine A is a highly potent compound with a recommended dose of only 100 to 200 micrograms twice a day for age-related memory loss. We recommend using it only under a doctor's supervision.

Safety Issues
Huperzine A appears to have few side effects. However, children, pregnant or nursing women, or those with high blood pressure or severe liver or kidney disease should not take huperzine A except on a doctor's recommendation. It seems likely that huperzine might interact with drugs that function in a similar fashion (such as standard drugs for Alzheimer's Disease) but as yet there is no proof of this.

Feature Article

The Fountain of Youth?

What if I told you that it may be possible for you to live to age 100 or even longer, in better health than you are in right now? And, if you are already experiencing the ill effects of aging, what if I told you that it may be possible for you to look and feel 20 years younger and stay that way beyond the age of 100.

Aside from the fact that you'd probably call me crazy, I have to tell you that we have never been as close as we are today to actually being able to extend human life!

Read More