Inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity by several species of Mentha oils was investigated. AChE activity was measured by a colorimetric method. Mentha aquatica (water mint) containing sesquiterpene alcohols showed the most effective inhibition (IC 50 of 26 μg/mL). In addition, some Mentha species such as M. aquatica (Akasaka-hakka II), M. gentilis (Fukuyama-hakka), M. gentilis (Akita-hakka), and M. arvensis (Nihon-hakka) showed potent inhibitory activity, and their IC 50 values were 28−32 μg/mL. Viridiflorol and elemol showed the most potent inhibition in terpenoids as the main components of Mentha oils. But none of them showed stronger inhibitory activity than essential oils.
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Miyazawa et al. (1998) studied this question.
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