Inhibition of Aβ42 Fibrillation and Toxicity with β-Asarone

Amyloid-β protein (Aβ) is a pathological component of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by participating in the senile plaque formation in the patient’s brain. Although the exact mechanism of Aβ toxicity is not fully elucidated, it is considered to be closely related to its fibrillation process. For prevention of AD, recent studies have suggested various small molecules which inhibit Aβ fibrillation. In this report, β-asarone found in acorus plant has been investigated as an anti-amyloid molecule. β-Asarone was demonstrated to prevent in vitro fibrillation of Aβ by inducing the oligomer formation that obviously decreased cytotoxicity. Therefore, β-asarone could be suggested as an inhibitory agent of Aβ fibrillation and toxicity, which would help us not only to understand underlying principle of amyloidogenesis mechanism but also to develop a controlling strategy toward AD. 