effect of aqueous extract of lavandula angustifolia on clearance of amyloid beta plaques

introduction: one of the most common markers in alzheimer’s disease (ad) is amyloid beta (aβ) plaques. anti-inflamm-atory agents including phagocytosis by immune cells, proteolytic enzymes and liver are known to decline the risk of aβ plaques formation. in the previous study we showed that aqueous extract of lavandula angusti-folia (lavender) improved memory deficits in alzheimeric rats. here, we evaluated ef-fect of the lavender extract on the clearance of aβ plaques in the hippocampus. materials & methods: the animal model of alzheimer was created with the injection of aβ 1-42 fragment into the cerebroven-tricular space of brain. the brain sections were stained using congo red to confirm formation of aβ plaques. twenty days after injection of aβ 1-42 fragment, the animals received different doses (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) of the aqueous extract of lavender for a period of 20 days. findings: our results showed that 50 mg/kg of lavender extract did not effectively influence the aβ plaques. on the other hand, the doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg of the herbal medicine markedly decreased the extent of aβ aggregates. the higher con-centration was more effective. discussion & conclusion: the lavender extract eliminates aβ plaques in a dose dependent manner. the exact mechanism by which the herbal medicine removes the aβ aggregates needs to be elucidated.