New drug to treat Alzheimer’s being clinically tested in China

A new drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease which uses flavonoids from cotton petals has entered clinical trial in China. Researchers at Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry under the Chinese Academy of Sciences said this week that they had discovered flavonoids capable of improving animals’ learning ability in a study that began in 2003.These flavonoids were found to improve the memory of mice with dementia and that of naturally aged mice. Researchers then identified the 20 flavonoid compounds in the petals and made tablets that can produce a similar effect at small dosages. The research institute signed a deal with a pharmaceutical marker to apply the research finding.