Primary Investigation for the Mechanism of Biatractylolide from Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma as an Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitor

Biatractylolide was isolated from ethyl acetate extract of dried Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma root by multistep chromatographic processing. Structure of biatractylolide was confirmed by (1)H-NMR and (13)C-NMR. The IC50 on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity was 6.5458 μg/mL when the control IC50 value of huperzine A was 0.0192 μg/mL. Molecular Docking Software (MOE) was used to discover molecular sites of action between biatractylolide and AChE protein by regular molecular docking approaches. Moreover, biatractylolide downregulated the expression of AChE of MEF and 293T cells in a dose-dependent manner. These results demonstrated that the molecular mechanisms of inhibitory activities of biatractylolide on AChE are not only through binding to AChE, but also via reducing AChE expression by inhibiting the activity of GSK3β.