Smart Soup, a traditional Chinese medicine formula, ameliorates amyloid pathology and related cognitive deficits.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that causes substantial public health care burdens. Intensive efforts have been made to find effective and safe disease-modifying treatment and symptomatic intervention alternatives against AD. Smart Soup (SS), a Chinese medicine formula composed of Rhizoma Acori Tatarinowii (AT), Poria cum Radix Pini (PRP) and Radix Polygalae (RP), is a typical prescription against memory deficits. Here, we assessed the efficacy of SS against AD. Oral administration of SS ameliorated the cognitive impairment of AD transgenic mice, with reduced Aβ levels, retarded Aβ amyloidosis and reduced Aβ-induced gliosis and neuronal loss in the brains of AD mice. Consistently, SS treatment reduced amyloid-related locomotor dysfunctions and premature death of AD transgenic Drosophila. Mechanistic studies showed that RP reduced Aβ generation, whereas AT and PRP exerted neuroprotective effects against Aβ. Taken together, our study indicates that SS could be effective against AD, providing a practical therapeutic strategy against the disease.